Lessons in Love
by Cherry268
Summary: Haruhi finds out that she needs a tutor so that she can stay at the academy!  She doesn't have the money to hire a tutor and her only friends are in the host club.  Only one man is smart enough to help her, but will she be willing to pay his price?
1. Chapter 1 The Unexpected Tutor

**Introduction**

**Just so all of you know, I follow the anime...so for those of you following the manga I'm sorry. I also have eliminated Eclair completely (since I actually feel her part was unnecessary) so the way everyone found out that Haruhi was a girl was because that night they had her dress up as a girl because they felt it was time to give up on the game. People were upset, but the host club took the blame and smoothed everything over with their charm. In fact, now there are even more customers coming in to the host club because there are boys coming in (including Ritsu Kasanoda) requesting Haruhi. Although this has caused some trouble (especially since non of the guys like seeing other men get close to Haruhi) they have all somehow managed thus far. I know that in my previous story Uki Doki Memorial that I had Kyouya tutor Haruhi, so part of this may sound a little familiar. However, just so you know, this story will be different! You'll have to judge for yourself whether or not you like it. Oh, and bear in mind that my first chapter always seems to suck no matter what I do, so please read on to at least chapter 2 before you decide that you dislike it okay? Loves and kisses to you all!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my own twisted imagination. I have kidnapped these characters and forced them all to temporarily do my bidding! Muah ha ha ha ha!**

Chapter 1

"So Haruhi, how did it go?" They were, of course, asking her about how her meeting with Tamaki's father had gone. While he didn't blame her for her cross dressing misadventure, he did have a serious problem with her grades. It just so happened that she was not at the top of her class, which was a requirement for her scholarship, so technically speaking she should be kicked out of Ouran Academy. Happily though, she was just being put on academic probation. She could still continue her education here at Ouran, provided she keep a log of her study time, meet with a tutor at least three times a week, and get the number one position in her class next time. If she could fulfill all of these requirements, then all would be fine; if not then it was the end of her days at Ouran.

"That's no good though! What happens if you can't maintain your grades? Daddy won't allow for his darling daughter to be kicked out!" Everyone in their little circle looked depressed by the thought and for some reason, it made her feel better. "Well, if it's just a matter of making sure that nobody else gets better grades than you then I'm sure the twins would be up for a little fun." Hikaru and Kaoru smiled evilly as they thought about everything they could do to the one who had beaten Haruhi's grades. "His name is Kazukiyo Soga right? Yeah, the scardy cat from the Halloween test of courage who had a crush on Momoka Kurakano. We could definitely play with him for a little while; it would be a fun game."

Once the Hitachiin brothers got started on something, they wouldn't stop until they were bored with it. She almost felt sorry for poor Kazukiyo since his extreme reactions would just be fuel to the fire, but then again, she could probably use all the help she could get. Now that the competition was taken care of she just needed to find a tutor. Her eyes immediately turned to Kyouya and she almost regretted it. He was looking right at her as if he expected her to ask. Damn him for being so smart anyway! If it were Honey or Mori, they would help her out no questions asked, but with Kyouya there was always a price.

She was loath to ask him for help, but she really didn't see another option. Honestly, who else could she ask for help? Plus, it wasn't like she could afford to pay for a personal tutor three times a week and the only friends she had were in the host club. "Hey Kyouya senpai, do you think that maybe you could be my tutor?" There, she'd asked. "Possibly, we'll have to discuss it later. As it is, we're all going to be late to class if we don't leave now."

"I won't allow it! Mother will just hurt my poor little Haruhi!" Tamaki was, of course, shaking Haruhi and trying to convince her that getting tutored by "Mother" wouldn't be good for her. Why is it that he was always being referred to as "Mother" around here? Honestly, he was tempting to start charging for every time he was called some derivative of that word. It was an interesting idea, although he doubted it would be very lucrative.

He had already decided that he would tutor Haruhi for no other reason than the headache he would get if she was kicked out. Plus it meant his lack of involvement in any torture that befell that Kazukiyo fellow. More than likely, he wouldn't actually have to tutor her anyway. Haruhi was bright, she just needed his name and, more than likely, his father's signature stating that she came over three times a week. Although it meant speaking to his father, he hoped it would only be the one time and that any further interaction would be between Haruhi and his father; he doubted it though. He could already feel a headache coming on just from thinking about it.

"This is your house!" Haruhi hadn't exactly been comfortable sharing a limo with Kyouya to his home, but he had insisted that if he was going to tutor her that they would need to speak with his father about it first. She didn't exactly like the idea, but when he explained that they would probably need his father's signature for Kyouya's tutoring she'd looked at the paperwork she'd received and sure enough, a parental signature was required. She'd only meet Yoshio Ootori one time and that was when he'd slapped Kyouya and she'd talked back to him. She hoped her first impression didn't give him any reason to refuse.

Yoshio Ootori was sitting inside his office when not only his son, but Haruhi Fujioka walked in. Considering the fact that he had already voiced his opinion about Kyouya marrying this young lady to his rival Yuzuru Suoh, it was very interesting to see the two of them together. He doubted that they were coming to him to proclaim any marital intentions, but the fact that they were together without the rest of the "host club" following behind them was enough to lessen the headache he'd had moments ago. "Kyouya, Ms. Fujioka, what can I do for you?"

"It seems Haruhi's grades dropped to where she is no longer the top student in her year. Since this is a violation of her scholarship with Ouran, it has put her into a situation where she must have a tutor three times per week in order to continue attending Ouran Academy." So, she needed tutoring. Yoshio frowned his dismay. It wouldn't due for Kyouya to marry someone who couldn't meet his own stringent standards. Allowing her grades to slip was a major flaw that he would never tolerate with his sons. True, she didn't know that he was holding such high standards for her, but he did. The woman that Kyouya married would have to be exceptional; he didn't want stupid grandchildren.

"I assume you need a parental signature in order for this tutoring to be accepted." At Haruhi's nod, he adjusted his glasses in a fashion eerily similar to Kyouya's and continued. "Should the Ootori group have any involvement with something, then perfection is required. If my son is to tutor you then I expect your grades to be flawless. Kyouya, I expect you know what you're asking; any failure on her part will reflect poorly on you."

"Of course father." Outwardly he was calm, but he was fuming on the inside! Dammit! He should have realized that his father would use this as yet another opportunity to make him succeed! Now rather than quietly letting her study he would actually have to attempt to teach her anything and everything! He already spent long hours into the night working, now he'd have even less sleep! Oh yes, he'd make her pay for this dearly! "Very well, leave me your paperwork and I'll review it. You may as well go and get started. Come by my office when you're finished and I'll have it filled out for you." With that they were dismissed and Kyouya walked out of his father's office.

Yoshio smiled at how well this should all pan out. There was no way that Kyouya would allow her grades to fall now. Plus, it practically assured that she was able to keep the high marks that he would require of her. It was like he was getting his son to groom her for her future roll here! He smiled to himself at how easy it would be. As the two of them spent more time together then surely they would form a closer bond. He'd have to arrange for some parties to fall on the days that she was to have tutoring. He wondered if Kyouya would pick up on his schemes. Since he'd raised his son to hope that he may one day be the head of this family then there was a possibility that he'd find out, but then again, he had years of catching up to do. Yoshio had been playing this game for almost his entire life. He'd find a way to make it work.


	2. Chapter 2 The First Session

Chapter 2

Kyouya didn't say anything on the way to his room, but she could tell that he was upset about something. This couldn't bode well for her. While so far it had seemed that he'd agreed to tutor her, she wasn't stupid enough to think that he'd actually done so just yet. She had a feeling that anyone who wanted help from Kyouya had to pay a steep price and with the way he was upset now it just made her worry that perhaps Kyouya's price would be higher than actually paying for private lessons.

He opened the door and waited for her to follow him in before slamming the door shut. "Haruhi, if I am to agree to this you will not be able to just sit here doing nothing. I will review all of your work and each of the day's lessons with you. You will come here every day after school unless you have a good enough reason for skipping out and you will stay until I feel satisfied that you've learned all that you needed to." Okay, changing it to every day sucked and she didn't like his superior attitude at the moment, but so far he hadn't said anything that a normal tutor wouldn't have said. "Are we agreed Haruhi?"

She waited, but she couldn't answer him quite yet. "Name your price." He stared at her blankly for a few minutes before what she said registered. He hadn't quite thought about it that way, but from her view nothing that he did came without a price. It was an interesting thought in it's own way. He hadn't actually assumed that she'd be able to pay him and he doubted that forcing her to stay in the club was necessary since she'd already decided to stay of her own accord. There honestly wasn't anything that he wanted from her. "I haven't decided honestly. It depends on how troublesome the experience is."

That just about floored her. Kyouya senpai never offered to do something without knowing what he was getting up front. However, maybe he just wanted her acceptance now so that he could demand something later that he thought she may refuse. Just exactly what that would be she wasn't sure, but then again that's the kind of thing Kyouya would do. She looked at him and worried her lip trying to decide whether or not she should take him up on his offer. Honestly, she didn't really have much of a choice. She tried to think of any other way out of this and couldn't. "Okay."

She proceeded to take out her notes and they reviewed all that they had learned today in her classes. Honestly, with it being the first day back from break there wasn't much to review. It seemed like the teachers were just as reluctant to start classes as the students were so most of what they had to go over was the outlines for the rest of the year. Haruhi hadn't expected Kyouya to have anything to teach her today, but she'd been wrong. He went over the different teachers she had and what their teaching methods were. He even forced her to go over all of the French she'd had the previous year. When she got something wrong he made her sit there and work it over and over again. He was more demanding than she'd expected.

After making sure she remembered all of the French from before break, he started going over what she would be learning this week. If this was the way that he studied then no wonder he was at the top of his class. She had to give Kyouya some credit, he really was trying to help her. Even if all she wanted to do right now was toss his butt out of the window for making her try to conjugate irregular verbs, it was all for her own good. One thing was for sure...she wouldn't have any problems at all getting the number one spot in her year if this kept up.

"Haruhi, were you able to tell Ranka that you would be coming by after school today?" She hated to admit it, but she hadn't. It's not like he'd worry too much about it though, he would have been to work before she arrived home so he'd never know that she didn't come home right after school. She supposed she was just trying to put off telling him that she'd failed. She wanted to be brilliant, like her mother. She didn't want her father worrying about her and what would happen should she get kicked out of Ouran Academy. Of course, she wasn't going to get kicked out. Between her hard work, Kyouya's tutoring, and the rest of the host club's scheming she was assured the top spot.

"No, I haven't told him yet; not about any of it. He'd only worry needlessly and I don't want that. If I can take care of this without him knowing then that would be wonderful. I don't expect to be able to hide it from him forever, but the longer I can go without having to tell him the better. That way all he has to worry about is work and getting some sleep."

Now to some that speech may seem a little odd, but to Kyouya, who valued both his work and his sleep, it was very touching. So much so that he decided to do something very out of character for him; he decided he wouldn't tell Ranka anything about it. Usually, he kept in touch with Ranka and informed him of what went on with the host club. It was only right, considering that his daughter was hanging out with them. So, if Haruhi wanted to protect her father by not telling him about her tutoring, then so be it. He was sure that with her coming over every after school that it wouldn't take him long to figure out that something was going on, but until he did figure it out he keep the tutoring a secret.

He was in the middle of doing some of his own schoolwork when a loud squealing sound came behind him. Haruhi blushed a little bit, but she didn't say anything. He looked at the clock and realized that it was approaching seven o' clock and that they'd done nothing but study in that time. His eating habits were so irregular that it hadn't even occurred to him that she probably would have eaten by now. He stood from his desk and stretched for a minute, working out some of the kinks in his shoulders. He was always stiff from leaning over his work. After he felt some of the stiffness leave his shoulders, he walked to the door.

"Haruhi, are you coming?" He continued walking down the hallway, but he knew that she'd come. It didn't take long. "What's up Kyouya senpai?" He smiled to himself a little, but he didn't say anything. She didn't press him either. They walked until they reached the kitchen. "My companion and I would like a meal prepared. We'll be waiting in the dining hall." With that he turned and walked away. "You know senpai, I can go get dinner myself. I just didn't know that I'd be here this long is all." He didn't blame her for being nervous, but then again knowing how much she loved food he doubted that she'd refuse.

"Don't concern yourself about it. I was remiss in my duties as your tutor. I kept you far too long on your first session without preparing you for it. Don't worry, I won't charge you for your meal. Look at it as my way of apologizing for keeping you so late." Normally he just went downstairs and grabbed a meal out of the refrigerator, but since he had company he may as well eat in the dining hall.

That sat across from each other, the only two people at a table that would sit over fifty people. Damn rich people. Not only was she feeling out of place, but it was also so awkward being alone with Kyouya. It was a little better when he was tutoring her because then they didn't have to talk to one another, but now there was nothing but awkward silence and she had no clue how to go about filling it.

"So Kyouya senpai, are you the only one who takes after your father or do your brothers all look like him too?" His eyes shifted to her and she wished that she'd kept her mouth shut. "Actually, I probably look the least like my father out of all of my brothers. I take after my mother more." With that, the awkward silence returned. She was saved from having to make another attempt at conversation by the arrival of their dinner.


	3. Chapter 3 Yoshio's Eavesdropping

**Sorry all, I was got sick for a few days and didn't get a chance to update. Unfortunately, I am going to work late tomorrow so I probably won't get to update tomorrow either. The good news is that I was able to get this chapter finished. I have a little less time now since I'm working full time now as opposed to part time as I was when I was writing Uki Doki Memorial, but hopefully you won't have to wait too long between chapters! I plan on getting another one finished today if I'm lucky, so without further delay, Chapter 3!**

Chapter 3

When Kyouya had said that they were going to have dinner, she figured that they would have something easily prepared; after all, it hadn't taken the staff very long to get their meal. So, Haruhi was shocked to find herself staring at so many different dishes! On her left was some delicious looking gomaae, to her right was some yakizakana, and in front of her was her very own okonomiyaki. She wondered how it was prepared, but she didn't ask.

Her first bite into the okonomiyaki was heaven! She was surprised it had wasabi on it, but she was happy because she had a tendency to like spicy food. It made her wonder if Kyouya's okonomiyaki was the same as hers. She wanted to ask, but talking with Kyouya always made her a bit uneasy. Before this, their relationship had completely revolved around her debt and how she was going to pay it back. It had seemed to her that Kyouya was always looking for more ways to add to her debt.

Now that she'd paid her debt off and decided to stay with the host club though, it really made it seem as if the two of them had nothing to talk about. She found herself staring at Kyouya and wondering why it was that his life was so private. She knew Hikaru and Kaoru so well that she could even tell the two of them apart when nobody else seemed to be able to tell the difference. Tamaki was an open book, and Honey and Mori generally answered whatever questions you asked of them; but not Kyouya.

He was different somehow. It seemed like he never wanted to let anyone get too close or know what he was really thinking. When she asked him questions, he generally told her that there was no reason for her to know or he gave her very short answers. It made her curious. Was he afraid to get too close to people? She didn't think that was it or he never would have gotten along with the rest of the host club, plus they all seemed to know more about him than she did. Was it her then? Was it because she was a commoner?

She really hadn't thought that Kyouya was that much of a snob, but it was the only logical answer that she could come up with because that was the only difference between her and the rest of the host club. She wasn't a part of "their" world. For some reason, it kind of hurt to know that she'd never really get to know him the way she had the others. In an odd kind of way, they all were sort of like a family.

Kyouya watched her with interest. He'd noticed her staring at him and wondered what it was that she was thinking about. At first, it was as if she was watching him, but after a little while her focus had turned and while she was looking at him, he doubted very much that she was seeing him. He saw a flicker of sadness wash across her features and he wondered what she was thinking about that would make her so sad. In his experience with Haruhi, as long as there was food involved she was happy.

She snapped out of her thoughts and back to the present only to find that Kyouya was watching her intently. She smiled at him and went back to eating, but she could feel his gaze linger. When she finally gained the courage to look back at him, he was eating again and she felt herself relax a little. The rest of their meal continued on in silence.

~1 week later~

"Dammit Haruhi, I thought we'd gone over this! In this type of situation you have to work in uniform acceleration!" For the tenth time that day she wanted to bash his head in. They were going over physics problems of all things...and she'd decided that she hated it. The only time the two of them seemed to be able to get through a tutoring session without wanting to kill the other was when they were going over English. As it turns out, it was one of his favorite subjects too. However, whereas she loved History, he loved Physics. He was testier when she got these questions wrong. If they were going over French he was more forgiving. Maybe it was because he was so good at it he felt that it should be easy, but to her it didn't make any sense half of the time. Who cared whether or not acceleration was uniform or not!

"You know Kyouya senpai, it's not like this is going to be on my upcoming tests, so why are you so hung up on it? Shouldn't I be concentrating more on the stuff that I'm about to be quizzed on? Wouldn't that make more sense?" She thought so, but apparently, he did not. He'd already gone over all of that material with her and she'd done it all flawlessly by the time they were finished so he saw no point in going over it again. Geez, didn't he ever forget anything?

He sighed and flipped back to the material she'd be going over for her tests. He asked her the questions that he figured would be most likely to be on the tests and she answered every one of them without hesitation and without any mistakes. "You obviously know that material already, so why are you having me quiz you on it? I thought that you were here to learn..."

Yoshio Ootori was very pleased with what he heard. Kyouya wasn't one to lose his tempter easily; he'd always kept it hidden. One had to keep a clam visage when in the public eye, so often that meant having tight control on one's emotions. Kyouya had never once looked upset or disappointed in front of him; he always took everything in and let out his frustrations in private. This was the way the head of the Ootori group was expected to behave, so everything was as it should be.

Yoshio wasn't a very romantic man. He expected his children to marry intelligent choices that would enhance the power of the Ootori name. His daughter, Fuyumi, had already married a prominent man in the medical field, but his sons had yet to marry. Fuyumi had always been a sweet child and, at first, didn't want to marry Shido. She had yelled about wanting to marry for love. Despite her protests, however, she'd gone to meet the man and discovered she had genuine feelings for him. She had married for love and the Ootori name had ties to a powerful family.

Before their wedding, he had asked his daughter how it was that she knew that she would be able to love Shido. She had laughed at him and told him that it was because she was able to get him to yell at her. She'd prattled on about being able to get under his skin and he hadn't really paid much attention to the rest of it, but if what she said was true then perhaps there was some hope for his son and Ms. Fujioka.

He had no doubt that Kyouya would marry whomever he said, but he had no such power over her. He'd already come to realize that tempting her with money or power wouldn't work. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that Ms. Fujioka was more like his own daughter Fuyumi when it came to marriage. She'd want to marry for love and affection.

Perhaps he was going about this the wrong way. Should he just tell his son that he wanted him to court Ms. Fujioka and that he would make him his heir if he was able to convince her to marry him? Should he attempt to talk with her father and see if they could come to an arrangement? He was afraid of doing either of those things because she was such a wild card and pushing too hard too fast may result in his enemy Yuzuru Suoh claiming her as his daughter-in-law instead. It was so much easier with his daughter. Wait...his daughter... With that thought clear in his mind, he walked back to his study. He had some arrangements to make.

uniform acceleration- It is the physical phenomenon that occurs in the circumstances where the objects speed changes at a rate that is constant, and hence the acceleration is the same over time.

Gomaae, yakizakana, and okonomiyaki are different Japanese dishes.


	4. Chapter 4 May I Present, My Sister

Chapter 4

He felt the beginnings of a headache coming on. Kyouya knew the second he stepped into his room that something was up. His clothing was scattered everywhere, his notes weren't on the desk where he'd left them, and his bed was so sloppily made that little lumps formed in random places. It had been years since his room had looked like this. In fact, he hadn't seen his room this disorganized since the last time... "Kyouya!"

He should have known. His sister was home. Every time she came to visit he always lost something. She either threw it away, it was destroyed, or it was never found again. No doubt she told the housekeeper that she would straighten up in his room; it would explain the mess. She never did seem to catch on to the fact that every time she tried to straighten up it only ended up looking worse than when she began. "Fuyumi, didn't I ask you not to mess with my things?"

"How mean! I just wanted to help you straighten up! I thought that it would be a nice surprise! I was trying to organize your shirt drawer for you, but you had too many in there. Once I took one out it just wouldn't go back in!" Yes, he definitely had a headache now. Fuyumi stopped when she heard feminine laughter coming from behind her brother. In the doorway was a cute girl that looked to be around her brother's age. "Oh Kyouya, who is this?"

Kyouya looked at his sister's shining face and wished that she hadn't come to visit. "Fuyumi, may I present Haruhi Fujioka. Haruhi, this is..." "I'm Kyouya's older sister. Are you a classmate of Kyouya's? I've never heard of any Fujioka family before." His sister looked at her with such shining eyes. She sort of reminded her of Tamaki more than Kyouya.

"Haruhi is the scholarhip student attending Ouran Academy." Kyouya went to go into more description, but as usual his sister just cut him off. "So you're a commoner! How wonderful! Kyouya, let's go out with her and let her show us some amazing places today! Do you know how to cook? I want to eat Haruhi's cooking!" Somehow, she couldn't help it; she just had to laugh.

Fuyumi turned to look at Kyouya wondering what it is that she'd done. "Did I say something funny?" Haruhi was able to stop laughing long enough to answer, "No, it's just that...now I see why Kyouya senpai and Tamaki senpai are such good friends! Fuyumi just looked confused, but Kyouya hid a secret smile. There were times when he thought that his sister and Tamaki were very similar himself.

"I'm sorry Fuyumi, but Haruhi and I have some homework that needs to be done. Perhaps after we're finished we can see about all the places you want to go." With that he scooted her out of his room and sat down at the table with Haruhi. "Um, Kyouya senpai...why are your clothes all over the sofa?" She had placed her bag down on the table and was politely trying not to move any of his scattered clothing. Perhaps she didn't realize that this was a part of his bedroom. It was true that commoners had small rooms, and she probably wouldn't realize that each member of his family had their own sitting room attached to their bedroom.

He walked to the door and after a little while a maid came in and started straightening up. Haruhi assumed that the maid would take his clothing to his room, but instead she folded them and placed them in various different places in this room and the one adjoining it. "Haruhi, let's continue where we left off yesterday shall we? I believe we were on page 42 of..." Of course, he wasn't going to answer her again. However, she had the strangest feeling that he was laughing at her in some way or another.

Fuyumi had insisted that she stay for dinner. She was filled with so many questions that it made her head spin! She wanted to know where Haruhi went shopping, what type of things she bought, what she usually ate for dinner. All of these things Haruhi had no problems answering. There was only one question that floored her. "Haruhi, why are you dressed like a boy? That is an Ouran Academy uniform isn't it? So why aren't you in the girl's uniform?"

She really had no answer for that one; she hadn't even thought about it really. She had been asked to stop pretending to be a boy and she had decided that she would; she'd even started letting her hair grow out. It hadn't dawned on her that perhaps she should start wearing the other uniform. She had just been so used to it and nobody had said anything to her. She had looked to Kyouya for help, but of course she didn't find any there. "I...um...was confused for a boy so they gave me this uniform." It was a sorry excuse, but it was the best one she could come up with without going into the whole story.

Fuyumi was shocked and outraged! "Who could mistake you for a boy! You're so pretty! You just wait right there and I'll be right back! I think I still have my old high school uniform around here somewhere and I just know that it'll fit you perfectly!" With that she dashed upstairs and left her alone with Kyouya.

"You could have said something you know!" She didn't know why she was upset that he didn't cover for her. Kyouya didn't waste energy if there wasn't something in it for him. He didn't even answer her; he just sat there and smiled as if he thought the whole situation was amusing! Thinking about it, he probably did. If she was having problems keeping up with Fuyumi's whirlwind of chatter and emotions then she was sure that Kyouya was amused. After all, he had to live with his sister for years, so he probably knew exactly how she was going to react.

"I found it! She came running into the room in a blur of yellow and grabbed Haruhi's hand. Come on, we'll have you fixed up in no time!" Just like that, Kyouya was alone. This should be interesting he thought. After all, knowing his sister she'd have her changed into the dress and promising to wear it to school every day from here on out. He wondered how Tamaki and the others would take it. They'd probably get an increase in male customers tomorrow.

Fuyumi was chattering away while Haruhi got changed. "So are you in my brother's class? I understand that the two of you were studying together." Haruhi was sure she knew where this line of questioning was leading, but she couldn't quite think of a way to get around it either. "No, he's in the year ahead of me and he's helping me study." She heard a crash behind her and ran out from behind the changing screen. "Fuyumi, are you alright?"

Fuyumi had been rocking back in one of the chairs waiting for her to finish changing when her answer had caught her off guard. "Kyouya's helping you study? Does that mean...oh, but it must because my father said that...and I came straight away in case it was true and Kyouya needed help..." Haruhi couldn't really figure out what she was mumbling about, but it seemed like she was alright.

"Are you sure you're alright Fuyumi?" Haruhi helped her get back up on her feet and she noticed that had a strange look in her eyes. "What's the matter?" Fuyumi just smiled at her, "Let's fix you up." Somehow, Fuyumi saying that she was going to fix her up was more intimidating than that first time when the host club had "fixed her up".


	5. Chapter 5 The MakeOver

**I wanted to apologize to all of my readers out there. This story is quite a bit more rushed than my usual work. I normally write a chapter, leave it for a day, re-read it to make sure that I've caught all gramatical errors and that it makes sense, edit it, and then post it. In my experience, it makes my writing better. So, I'd like to apologize for not taking that time with this one. Now that I'm working full-time, I'm just not going to be able to give this the attention I know it deserves. I hope you'll all still enjoy it since it's all stuff that's fresh out of my brain and non-edited. Well, as always loves and kisses to all! I hope you'll enjoy this next segment!**

Chapter 5

Fuyumi came running down the stairs saying that she was going to take Haruhi home and have a sleepover and how much fun that would be! He reminded her that Haruhi had school tomorrow and needed to be up early and Fuyumi said that she'd delay the sleepover until tomorrow night then. He also reminded her that he needed to go over Haruhi's notes with her sometime tomorrow and she stomped her foot. "Can't you go one day without your tutoring?" When he protested she finally gave in and said that she'd return her to him by 7PM. It was a good think that Haruhi's father was working more hours, but then again he wondered what would happen when he came home and found a strange girl in his home.

As he had predicted, there was an increase in male customers the next day at school. He didn't even catch a glimpse of Haruhi in the halls, but it didn't really matter to him. He'd seen her in the female school uniform before, so it's not like he was going to turn into some drooling maniac over the "dramatic" change. He'd almost had to throw Tamaki in the closet to prevent him from running over and "protecting" his "daughter".

The increase in customers had been a big boost to their club's funds, but he wasn't sure it was worth the extra headache he was getting from all of the guys in the host club. If he didn't watch it, they would start requesting Haruhi next. He was sure the lack of time spent with her wasn't helping. Perhaps they should plan a retreat for them soon. That should help smooth over any ruffled feathers.

He brought the idea up to Tamaki and before he had even finished suggesting the idea it had been decided upon. He was going to suggest going tomorrow, but then he remembered his sister wanting to kidnap Haruhi for shopping and such, so he told everyone that they'd all go to one of his family's houses nearby. He even called his sister and let her know about the retreat just in case she decided to drop Haruhi off earlier than previously discussed; she hadn't.

In fact, she said she'd drive Haruhi over so that she wouldn't get lost. Great, in other words she was coming too. He wondered exactly how long it was that his sister was planning to stay for. In fact, shouldn't his father have tried to push her away again like he'd done the last time she'd come to visit? He found his father's lack of action interesting. It made him wonder what the old man was doing if he was too busy to chide his daughter for an action that he felt was "unbecoming an Ootori".

"So, how did it go?" Haruhi didn't really want to answer. In fact, if that was the way people were going to react when she went to school dressed in the school uniform then she was never going to wear the thing again! She'd been swamped all day. Girls had come up to her asking what products she used and guys had come up to her proclaiming their love. She'd had so many requests at the host club that she didn't even get to see any of the guys! "You were right, everyone said I was pretty." She had tried to say it with feeling, but she just couldn't find the strength to sound as optimistic as she was sure Fuyumi had wanted.

It had started that morning when Fuyumi had made her over for school. She'd protested, but Fuyumi had insisted. In a way she guessed she did look a little different, but she didn't really see much of a change. Her hair had been combed over in a slightly more feminine way and her eyes had some shimmery white around it, but that was the only difference that she really noted. "I just knew that you'd be a hit! Ranka and I have been ordering somethings for you and I have a full day of shopping planned for us!

So after school was when the real torture had began. Fuyumi had decided that she was going to give Haruhi a complete make-over. When Haruhi had tried to protest again, she'd simply said that it was so that nobody ever mistook her for a boy again and dragged her along.

She'd had a manicure, pedicure, body scrub, and all other kinds of things done to her that were supposed to make her look "beautiful". It all seemed like a waste of money to Haruhi, but when her father had found out what was happening and fully endorsed what Fuyumi was doing, it seemed to add so much fuel to the fire that she doubted she could stop her if she tried. No matter what she said Fuyumi just kept buying things. When she'd finally yelled and told her to cut it out she'd started crying and Haruhi had felt so bad that she'd agreed to do whatever Fuyumi wanted. The tears had dried up so quickly it made her wonder if it hadn't all been an act.

She bought Haruhi dresses and make-up. She had jackets, shawls, gloves, and hats sticking out of the top part of her closet. The bottom of her closet was filled with shoes that looked like they'd kill her feet. She now had more purses than she had fingers...and she wasn't even going to talk about the change in her underwear drawer! Haruhi had tried to protest saying that all of these gifts were too expensive and Fuyumi had just laughed at her.

"Haruhi, I have a monthly allowance that I'm allowed to spend and I haven't even gone through a fourth of it yet! It makes me happy to spend my money making things beautiful and making people happy. Now then, where should we go next? Oo, I know! How about we go and get something to eat! I know this excellent little place around the corner that serves the best sushi around!" She knew she should be grateful, but all she could think was "damn rich people".

After eating, they had gone back to the Ootori main house. Fuyumi had talked about how much fun she'd had on the way over and told her that she was going to drive her to the "retreat" the host club was having. Haruhi hated to admit it, but she was actually looking forward to seeing Kyouya. She'd take his perfectionism over this make-over stuff any day!

As they walked in the butler informed them that Kyouya was in his room awaiting them. Fuyumi had asked her if she knew how to get to Kyouya's room. Unfortunately, Haruhi could only speculate where Kyouya's room was. They'd only ever studied in that room with the sofas, so it was somewhat strange to think of going to Kyouya's bedroom. "No, I don't think I know how to get there."

Fuyumi had offered to show her there and started telling her stories of her husband. She told Haruhi how love was everything you ever needed in the world; it made her smile. "I think you're right. My mother and father loved each other very much. My father has never been able to even think of another woman besides her." Fuyumi had smiled at the far off look in her eyes; she knew she'd like her.

When Fuyumi had gotten to the door that held the room that she and Kyouya had always studied in, she was a little confused. "Wait, I thought we were going to Kyouya's room?" Fuyumi had laughed as if she'd told the best joke, "We are. This door leads to Kyouya's sitting room. His bedroom and bathroom are connected, of course." Again all Haruhi could think...damn rich people.

Of all the things she'd expected him to be doing, sleeping hadn't been one of them. "Uh oh, perhaps we should just take you back home." She'd heard about this, about him being in a foul mood when he woke up. However, she wasn't going to leave now. She was afraid that if she did that Fuyumi would just take her on another shopping spree. "Nah, it's alright. I'll start reviewing the material and wait for him to wake up, don't worry about it!"


	6. Chapter 6 The Hypotensive Devil Awakens

Chapter 6

Fuyumi had hesitated a little bit, but she'd eventually convinced her that something like this had happened before and that she didn't mind. Fuyumi had just smiled at her, like she knew something, and then had left her alone and closed the door. Haruhi was so relieved! She grabbed her books and started laying them out and then started studying her French. Every now and then, she'd look over at Kyouya's sleeping form.

After about ten minutes she got up and shook him a little. He didn't budge. He couldn't be comfortable like that. He was always bent over his work and rubbing his shoulders. She found a small throw on the back of one of the sofas and draped it over his shoulders. Then she grabbed the little sofa pillow that was next to her bag and laid it on the desk. Getting it under him was going to be the tricky part; especially since she wanted to make sure that she didn't wake him up. She didn't want to be attacked!

She put one hand on the back of his head and the other on his chin. So far, so good. Now she just needed to get the pillow under his head. How was she going to do that one? She obviously hadn't thought this through very well! She needed another hand to scoot the pillow over! She moved her hand from his chin to his cheek and slowly let all the weight of his head shift to that arm. He mumbled a bit and it had startled her so much that she nearly dropped him!

After her heartbeat returned to normal a bit, she reached across and scooted the pillow to just the right place. Now all she'd need to do is lower his head back down. She lowered him slowly, keeping her spare hand on the desk to stabilize herself. Just before she lowered his head on the pillow she seemed to catch on to the fact that her hand was going to be between his face and the pillow.

She didn't want to keep touching him. She was afraid that somehow she'd wake him and he'd kill her. However, she couldn't very well put him down and trap her hand under him either! She scooted a little closer to him and lifted the arm she was using to stabilize herself off the desk. It was a little easier now that she was closer. She placed her hand back on the back of his head and held some of the weight. She was trying to get back into the same position she'd been in when she'd started this mess.

She should have taken his glasses off earlier, because they were giving her a little bit of trouble, but she was sure that she'd manage. She went to slip her over hand back down to his chin, but she was still trying to hold the weight of his head too. As she was moving her hand down his face, her thumb brushed across his lips and he mumbled. Again, her heart started hammering, but she managed not to drop him. She finally got her hand out of the way and lowered his head onto the pillow.

Her heart was still pounding so hard. Whatever possessed her to try to make him comfortable in the first place? It wasn't worth the risk of him waking up! She definitely should have thought that one thorugh a little more clearly! What would have happened if he had woken up while she was holding his head. Would he have hit her while only partially conscious? Or would he have come straight awake and ask her what she thought she was doing? She sat on the sofa to try to still her heart and her mind.

She had been really afraid that he was going to wake up during that last mumble. He'd done it right as her thumb was passing his lips, so it had felt like he'd kissed her! She knew that was ridiculous since he was asleep and all, but it had still surprised her to the point where she almost dropped him! It was a good thing her fingers hadn't gotten caught up in his glasses or she may have ended up poking him in the eye!

Oh no, she forgot about his glasses! She knew from experience that it wasn't good to go to sleep with your glasses on. There was always the potential that you'd break them and that was very dangerous since they were so close to your eyes. She had thought about removing them earlier, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to go through that again.

Haruhi had never been the type to scare easily, but she was still a little nervous about walking back towards him. She told herself that she was being silly; that if he was going to wake up then he would have already done so by now. She inched forward slowly; he hadn't moved. She put her hand out and slipped it a little way under the pillow to unhook his glasses from his ear. Then she pulled them off...and he didn't even move! That was so much easier than getting the pillow under him that she almost laughed!

She laid the glasses down on the desk next to him and turned off the desk lamp that he had next to him. Maybe she'd work on her Physics for a little while. It was always easier when she'd worked through some of it on her own. She made less mistakes in front of him that way. She had just pulled out her Physics book when a noise from the desk made her glance that way. There Kyouya lay with a smile on his face. She was so surprised that she dropped her book.

She watched in horror as his eyes opened. For some reason, she felt like she'd been caught snooping in his papers or something equally personal. All she'd done was make sure he was comfortable, but now it seemed almost as if she'd committed a crime. "K...Kyouya senpai! You're awake!" Great now she'd have to deal with his wrath! She wondered which was worse, waking up Kyouya or waking up Honey senpai.

Kyouya raised his head, sat up, and stretched. He found his glasses almost immediately, slipped them back into place, stood up, and walked towards her on the sofa. This was it, the moment when he'd berate her for waking him up. He sat down next to her...and grabbed the French she'd been working on.

?

That was it? He didn't do anything at all! All he did was grab her notes and scan what she'd been working on! Where was the screaming and the death? She was sure she'd heard from the rest of the guys that it was one of the worst experiences of their lives having witnessed Kyouya waking up in the morning. "You translated this incorrectly Haruhi. It's supposed to be mysterious...not unknown.

Her breathing stopped. Was he referring to her work or to the situation they were currently in. The rational part of her brain knew he was talking about her French translations, but the other half of her found the part where Kyouya woke up and pretended where nothing happened was quite mysterious indeed. "Other than that your work is fine. Although..."

Uh oh. "I'm glad to see that you survived my sister. She seems to have turned you into her own little project." Huh? "Oh, your sister. Yeah. I have to admit that I was so happy when we drove back here. When we found you asleep she wanted us to leave, but I was afraid that she'd take off with me and make me try on another dress. I find it much easier to sit here while you point out my mistakes than it is to sit still while your sister tries different ways of styling my hair.


	7. Chapter 7 Awareness

Chapter 7

He never said a word about waking up the way he did and she was very grateful. It was as if it had never happened. Perhaps he thought that his sister had done it? Maybe she used to do things like that for him whenever she found him sleeping. Whatever the reason, if he didn't ask then she wasn't going to answer. They'd gone over about an hour's worth of homework before his sister came back to take her home.

"I know you want to keep the lovely lady closeted away in here with you, but she's got a trip to pack for remember? As I said, I'll make sure she gets there!" With that Haruhi was going back to her place with Fuyumi. After she left he stood up and walked towards his desk.

The little sofa pillow was still there. He picked it up, along with the throw, and walked back to where he'd been sitting not long ago. Maybe he should have let her know that she'd woken him not long after she'd started, but she'd seemed so afraid of waking him that he just didn't know how to let her know that he was already awake; so he'd played the part.

It had been a long time since someone had been so motherly over him. He was an Ootori. He was expected to be able to take care of himself. He wasn't to be coddled. Everyone who knew anything about him would know that, and yet she'd done it anyway.

He found it surprising how gentle she'd been with him. Haruhi wasn't exactly known for being the most gentle person after all. Yet she had been with him. When she'd moved her hand from his cheek to his chin it was almost as if she had been caressing him. His mumble there had been to cover up the involuntary inhalation that caress had caused him; that hadn't been his biggest flaw though.

He had been fine during her whole "pillow situation". He hadn't been tempted to laugh or anything. He had been so relieved at first when she had moved away from him; not because he hated her touch, but because it meant that she hadn't found out that he'd been awake the whole time. It wasn't until she went to remove his glasses that he'd almost lost it.

Anyone else would have left them on; especially after being so stressed out about whether or not he woke up. Not her; she came right back and made sure that he didn't break his glasses. It was so typical Haruhi that he'd almost laughed. He thought that he'd done a good job of keeping it in, but he hadn't been able to keep the smile that had come to his face.

Kyouya felt himself slipping. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that something in him had just been changed. He didn't think it was just him either; something significant had just taken place between the two of them. He wasn't really sure how or even why, but he was sure of it.

He shook his head to try to clear such nonsensical thoughts from his mind. He wasn't like that idiot Tamaki who was already head over heels in love with her. Nor was he like the twins, so in love just because she could tell two of them apart. There was no way he was going to join the ranks just because he was spending a little more time with her; and yet, his vehement denial made him wonder why he was denying it so thoroughly. If anyone had asked him before if he had romantic feelings for Haruhi he would have laughed at them and denied it without giving it a second thought.

He had enough of this meaningless mental debate. He threw the pillow and throw back onto the sofa and went in to his bedroom. He was going to have to wake up early tomorrow and make sure that everything was ready for their retreat tomorrow, so he may as well get some sleep now while he could. Yes, tomorrow; he'd just have to wait and see what would happen tomorrow. Maybe he was just imagining that things had changed between the two of them.

~the next day~

He hadn't been imagining it; something really had changed. When everyone had first met up he noticed that she didn't look directly at him. She looked at him if he asked her a question, but he could tell that she was nervous by the way her eyes flitted about. It just didn't make any sense. What had one little incident changed everything about the way they reacted to one another? Of course, the fact that she was reacting so abnormally intrigued him. It made him wonder how she'd react to various different scenarios.

He caught Fuyumi staring at him and raised a brow. What was that smile for exactly? When he went to ask her about it she just laughed and said that it was nothing. "It's just nice to see you again." He didn't believe her for one second. There was something in that smile. It was almost conspiratorial. It was as if she was saying, "I've found out your secret and I'm going to use it". He didn't like it one bit.

All in all, the retreat was pretty uneventful. Fuyumi had stayed around for it; of course. He hadn't believed for one second that she would actually just drop Haruhi off and drive away. He knew that she'd be sticking around. For some reason, it was aggravating him. He wanted her to leave Haruhi alone. The rational part of Kyouya's brain told him that his sister was not the manipulative schemer that the rest of his family was, but that secret smile that she kept throwing his way refused to believe it. Sweet natured she may be, but she was also an Ootori.

After school the next day, Tamaki was at his house. He had claimed that he wanted to help Haruhi study as well. He'd nearly shut the door in his face. Of course, his sister had welcomed him with open arms.

They kept interrupting and this was starting to take forever. If this kept up, she'd be here until well into the night and her father was coming home early today. He sighed and rubbed his temples trying not to lose his temper. "Haruhi, it seems as if we won't be getting any work done today. Since your father is working tomorrow, do you mind if we make a later night of it then?" She'd said that was fine and started packing up her books. He guessed she'd caught on to the fact that studying with the two of them here was pretty much useless.

Tamaki had, of course, wanted Haruhi to stick around and play when she'd packed up, but she'd declined and said that she needed to get home and cook dinner for her father anyway. At the mention of Haruhi's cooking both Tamaki and Fuyumi had insisted that they be allowed to come over too. She'd sighed and eventually caved in. When he said his farewells at the door, Haruhi stopped with a look of mild surprise. "Aren't you coming too senpai?"

He'd been about to decline when both Tamaki and Fuyumi grabbed him on either side (Hitachiin style) and started dragging him to the car. "Of course he's joining us for the evening." "Yes, just think Kyouya, commoner food!" He should have known; the two of them were always dragging him off to one commoner's exhibit or another.


	8. Chapter 8 The invitation

Chapter 8

The next day at school Kyouya had found himself watching her closer than normal. It seemed like she was having more problems playing the host when she was hosting for boys. She still had females requesting her, which surprised many of the other members. She was obviously more at ease with her own sex and many of the guys drooled while watching her with them.

At the end of the day, Fuyumi had come to pick them up from school. She'd bought a pearl necklace with matching earrings and bracelet for her and forced her to try them on. She glared at Kyouya, but she managed to mumble out a protest without hurting her feelings too much; as usual, Fuyumi ignored her. Kyouya didn't do anything; he just let his sister chatter until they'd reached his rooms and they started studying. After about twenty minutes into the session though, he'd had enough.

Fuyumi had been banned from the room. She couldn't just sit still while they were in the process of studying and kept trying to interrupt. He had warned her that if she couldn't be quiet that he would toss her out and he'd meant it. "Now then, where were we?"

They'd finally finished going over what the lessons had been from both today and yesterday and were now going over homework problems. She was still at the sofa, while he had moved to his desk and was working on some math problems that he needed to finish up. They worked in companionable silence until he finished up his work. After he was done, he sat beside her on the table and pointed out small things here and there to her.

He had arranged for dinner to be brought up to them so that they wouldn't have to be disturbed, but of course, his sister had barged in. He was really going to have to talk with her about her attachment to Haruhi. Every time he saw the two of them together he got the feeling that Fuyumi was using her as her very own doll that she could dress up and play with. It was annoying him.

They had just about finished up their meal when his father, of all people, walked in. It was quite unusual for his father to enter his rooms. Usually, he would send a message or Kyouya would be summoned to his study; his father wasn't one to come to him. "I've come to inform you that tomorrow we're going to have a few business associates of mine over for dinner. Ms. Fujioka, since you will be here attending to your lessons, I'll expect you to be properly dressed for the occasion." He went to exit, but turned back at the last second. "Kyouya, may I speak to you for a moment?"

Kyouya joined his father outside, curious as to what he didn't want to say in front of the room's other occupants. "Yes father?" Yoshio closed the door and turned to his son. "Many important families will be here tomorrow. Do not let her embarrass us." He went to walk away, but Kyouya stopped him. "If you're afraid that she'll embarrass us, then why have her attend at all? She's not required to be tutored every day after all."

Yoshio turned back around and looked at his son. "I take it that you've noticed your sister's presence here over the past few days." Kyouya nodded, but said nothing. "Have you stopped to wonder why she's here without her husband? Gossip spreads quickly and at first all assumed that they'd had an argument. You know as well as I do that from the second she left that house all eyes were on her."

"Perhaps they were hoping that she would sneak off to see another man. Of course, when that didn't happen and she came here, everyone was curious as to what she was doing. You should know as well as I do what it is that she's been doing over the past few days. It seems like she hasn't left Ms. Fujioka's side. People are starting to ask questions about who this young woman is and why she's suddenly become so important to your sister. So you see, it is important that Ms. Fujioka is in attendance and that you keep her out of trouble, because all eyes will be upon her."

With that, his father simply walked away. Kyouya honestly didn't know what to make of his father's speech. Although, he had wondered already why it was that his father hadn't told Fuyumi to leave. His father hadn't flat out said that she'd had a fight with her husband, but he hadn't given any other reason for her presence either. He just said that the public eye was upon her and that because of that, it would also be on Haruhi.

He walked back into the room to find his sister playing with Haruhi's hair. "You should wear the violet dress that we bought the other day! I'll come over and help you do your hair and make-up! How fun it will be! You haven't been to these types of dinners often have you? Don't worry about it, it's usually just a bunch of my father's business associates and their families. I'll stick beside you and I'm sure that Kyouya will too! Won't you Kyouya?"

He looked over at his sister's smiling face and let his eyes glance over to Haruhi before replying. "Of course, I'll stay by your side throughout the night." She looked a little relieved to hear him say it, and for some reason it made him happy. He didn't want to question it; he was afraid of what the answer would be. For now he would just concentrate on the rest of the translations they had to finish.

"Fuyumi...didn't I already toss you out once for interrupting Haruhi while she was in the middle of her studies?" An hour had passed since his father's announcement and he was already getting tired. He'd finished up all of his homework and had opened his laptop to check on the status of the company's funds. He'd been frustrated to see that an investment that he had thought would flourish hadn't done as well as expected.

"How can you sit there and study all night! Don't you ever get bored?" No, he never did get bored going over the day to day activities of the company. He knew that he'd never be satisfied being idle. A trip to the beach was good every now and then, but other than that he much preferred working to just sitting around doing nothing. "Fuyumi...out!"

Now that his sister was gone he could get back to work. Haruhi had said that she was almost finished up with the assignments he'd given her, so he had a little time before he needed to review them. His shoulder was starting to hurt him again. He always tried to be conscious of his posture while he was working, but for some reason, his right shoulder continued to hurt and he was always stiff. He stretched it out for a brief second before returning to the work in front of him.

"Senpai, I'm done with my work. She brought the work over to him and he stretched a little before taking it from her and reviewing it. "Your sister's right you know; you need to take a break every now and then." He looked up from her work, but he didn't say anything. He generally had too much on his plate to be able to take time out and take a break. "I'm fine."

He went back to reviewing her work and she poked him in the shoulder. It took him by surprise and he gasped before glaring at her. "If you're fine then why did that hurt?" He didn't say a word, just went back to reviewing her work. She stuck her tongue out at the back of his head and waited for him to finish, but she didn't press the issue; at least not for now. She kept the information locked away though, for just in case. Perhaps one day the knowledge would come in handy.


	9. Chapter 9 Dinner and a Phone Call

Chapter 9

She'd worn the violet dress...and the amethyst jewlery set that Fuyumi had recently given her...and some silver strappie shoes that were already killing her feet. All in all, she felt completely out of place. Fuyumi had claimed that she looked absolutely stunning, but she felt like a clown. She'd felt marginally better when Kyouya had complemented her appearance, but she wondered if he'd actually meant it or if he was hosting her.

The night had only just began, but she'd been introduced to so many different people that she'd never be able to remember them all. She'd also confirmed her earlier suspicion; Kyouya was hosting her. In fact, he hadn't left her side for even one second! He had offered her his arm and had escorted her around and was acting as if they were on much better terms than they actually were. It was sort of creeping her out.

Fuyumi was around for much of the time, but she often left to go speak with this family or that one. Whenever Haruhi glanced over to where she was on the other side of the room though, she'd noted that Fuyumi was constantly watching her. Was this all for her benefit? Or was it more that they were afraid that she would embarrass herself; or them?

If she had to guess then she was going to say that they were afraid of her embarrassing them, because she couldn't see any other reason for Kyouya to act the way he was otherwise. When they had a semi-private moment, she decided to let him know. "You can stop that you know; there's no reason for you to host me."

He kept a smile on his face and leaned down so that nobody passing by would hear his response. "Don't think of it that way then. I'm not hosting you, I'm hosting everyone else. If they think we're closer than we are then so be it. Although, I'd like to point out that nobody else in this room could tell the difference; so doesn't that mean that we are close?"

Yoshio didn't know what it was that they were discussing, but he was very much aware of the impression their conversation was having on those around them. They were currently huddled together against the far wall with his son bent down whispering in her ear. Thankfully, his son seemed to be so preoccupied trying to make sure that she made it through the evening without making a mistake that he hadn't quite noticed that they were portraying themselves as a couple. Unless, of course, Kyouya didn't care what they said, which would be an interesting development.

Nobody ever commented on the pair to him, but as he walked past different groups he could hear the whispers. "Don't they look cozy?" "Do you think it's serious?" "His father wouldn't allow them to act that way publicly if it weren't." "No wonder she's been spending time with her then." "Do you think we'll hear an announcement soon?"

Yoshio smiled to himself; this evening was turning out to be a bigger success than he'd planned. He'd just wanted people to start seeing the two of them together. He hadn't thought that people would have taken them for a couple just yet. He had figured that it would have taken at least another three or four events before people started spreading the gossip around.

He wondered how long it would take the gossip to start spreading. He was looking forward to getting a call from Yuzuru. Knowing the rumor mill the way he did, it shouldn't take too long. Perhaps within the week? After all, he doubted that Yuzuru even knew that his son was the one tutoring her yet.

~the next day~

"Hello Suoh, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He was able to keep the smile from his voice, but he let it slip to his lips easily enough. He must have invited all the right people last night, because he hadn't expected Yuzuru to hear about it so quickly. "The scholarship student? Yes, of course I remember her. You haven't forgotten that little conversation that we had last time we met I take it? Um hum. Why of course they've been spending much more time together. After all, you're the one who said that she needed to meet with a tutor and naturally Kyouya agreed to be of assistance."

The marked silence on the other end of the phone was music to his ears. "She's been coming over ever day after school now. I know that it was only required for her to come three times a week, but my son felt it was best that she come for a little bit every day. Some times she's here so late that she has to stay for dinner, but Kyouya or Fuyumi make sure that she makes it home safely each time so there's no need to worry."

The conversation turned to other topics for a bit, but he knew that Yuzuru just wanted to make it seem like Ms. Fujioka wasn't the only reason he'd called. He doubted that Yuzuru even cared how the rest of his family was doing. All he cared about right now was that he was on the losing end of their little war. He could have told him last time that he would be though. After all, Ootori's always win in the end.

Haruhi was, of course, in Kyouya's rooms. He had brought up a new lesson for her and she was having problems with it. She had always thought that she was bright and that with a little hard work that there was nothing that she couldn't do, but Kyouya's little study sessions were starting to make her think that maybe she'd been wrong. They'd done nothing but argue all day so far and she was tired of it. "Just let me try to get through it on my own and you can point out my errors later!"

So he'd gone off to work on...whatever it was that he was always working on in that laptop of his and she was here on the sofa trying to muddle through something that she had no clue how to do. She felt bad because they'd been yelling at each other all day, but she didn't really know what she could do to fix it. Kyouya was older than her, but it wasn't just that. He had a completely different upbringing than she did. He was expected to have the answer for everything...and she felt like she was disappointing him.

After a couple of hours she was finally finished with her "assignment" and she went to bring it over to him. He stopped his work and grabbed the paper. Rather than pointing out the errors and talking it out with her like normal though, he started writing it down. She felt like a young child getting scolded. "I'm sorry Kyouya. I think maybe your expectations of me are too high. I can't get all of this right on the first try the way that you can."

He stopped grading her paper and just looked at her. "I don't believe my expectations are too high. Honestly, you're smarter than you give yourself credit for. You want to become a lawyer right? You'd have to be smart in order to accomplish that goal. It's one of the reasons that I'm being so hard on you. The education that you receive at Ouran will be a good start towards that goal, but if you really want to reach your dreams then you're going to have to work much harder."

"Plus, there's also the matter of the fact that you're getting tutored by an Ootori. If you walk away from this and you can't make it into Ouran University, which I'm assuming you're wanting to attend, because your scores aren't high enough then it will reflect poorly upon us. I want to make sure that you pass that exam. That's why my lessons cover topics other than what you're being taught."


	10. Chapter 10 Heartbeat

Chapter 10

~2 weeks later~

"I know that you're a high and mighty Ootori and all, but there's no way that I'm doing it! You can't force me to go through that type of torture!" Kyouya knew that this was going to cause him a headache. His family was going to be attending a birthday party that was being thrown for a major client and his father had, again, insisted that Haruhi attend and not embarrass the family. Again Kyouya had asked why her presence was necessary; this time he'd gotten no answer. His father had simply told him that it was and left.

"Haruhi, I hate to admit it, but my sister is the best person to help you with this. I know that you don't like attending these functions, but since you've already agreed to come with us (she'd only agreed when he told her that they had a top chef catering the party) then you might as well go with my sister and let her dress you up." His argument wasn't effective enough and he knew it, but he didn't know what else to do.

"Look Kyouya; I like Fuyumi, but I can dress myself and brush my own hair and whatever else too! Honestly, the host club has picked out many of my outfits before and I always seem to come out alright, so what does it matter whether or not she picks out what I wear or if you do for that matter? I'm pretty sure that I can manage without her."

"Oh, so you're just arguing with me because you want me to pick out what you wear as opposed to my sister doing it? If that was the case then why didn't you say so earlier Haruhi? I'll be sure and let Ranka know that I'll be stopping by later then and since I'll be by then we'll just do some of the tutoring at your place today." He knew that hadn't been what she'd meant, but honestly he was too afraid that she'd take the "casual attire" to mean jeans and a shirt to care.

He'd walked away, but she hadn't run after him. Apparently, she found the idea of him coming by more palatable than his sister. He found this information a little peculiar, but he didn't question it. All he cared about was ensuring that what she wore was something that wouldn't embarrass his family. It probably meant they'd get more studying done anyway though since whenever Fuyumi was around studying was harder to accomplish.

Ranka was overjoyed to see him. "It seems like forever since we've talked." That was absolutely absurd considering the fact that he'd spoken to him earlier this week, but then again Ranka was a little bit of a drama queen. "I believe I told you about the party that we'll be attending tomorrow?" Ranka laughed behind his hand, "Oh yes, my darling little Haruhi is going to be so cute!"

They talked about the party for a bit and even ate dinner before Ranka had to leave for work. He waited for a minute or two while Haruhi tidied up before standing and walking towards the direction that he assumed her room would be in. "Um, Kyouya senpai, is it really necessary for you to pick out what I wear?" He supposed not, as long as it was appropriate he didn't really care. "I don't see why you couldn't wear whatever you wanted; provided that it works for the occasion."

She tried to convince him to stay in the living room, but he told her that he wasn't going to sit around while she played with her clothes. It kinda pissed her off, but she eventually let him in her room. She went to her closet, grabbed a blue dress that she thought would work for the party and showed it to him, but he negated it almost immediately. He went over to her closet, eyed what she had hanging there, and pulled out a short white dress, some white heels that didn't have too much of a heel, and a short white dress jacket.

"Isn't that a little too formal?" Of course, that had been what he'd been afraid of when he'd let her read the invitation and she saw that it was "casual". "Haruhi, casual attire at these affairs mean that you dress up. An invitation to a formal event would usually require a full length ball gown. I was trying to explain that to you earlier, but you didn't exactly listen.

She stuck her tongue out at him. It was such a childish gesture, but he'd never seen her do it before. She'd already started pulling out her notes though, so he didn't comment on it. She looked over at her desk, but it was small and she didn't have another chair for it. She was about to suggest that they go into the dining room, but he just opened her book and started reading over her shoulder.

They'd been reviewing for about an hour when she noticed it; he started stretching like he was stiff again. She'd finished up her problems, so she stood up. When he'd looked confused, she'd told him that he should sit while she got them something to drink. She went and made some tea for them and when she came back, she laid both glasses on the edge of the desk.

They both drank in silence for a minute while he read something in her English book that he would no doubt want to go over with her. She waited until he set the cup down before poking him in the shoulder. When he flinched, she sighed and smacked him upside the head the way she normally would Hikaru and Kaoru.

She'd just smacked him! He turned and opened his mouth to speak, but before the words left his lips she put both of her hands on his shoulders and slammed him back into the chair. "I told you that you needed a break. If your muscles are stiff or sore then you can't just ignore it or it will just get worse; now sit still!" With that, she set about trying to get his muscles to relax.

He was pretty sure that he'd never received this kind of treatment before. He turned his head to let her know that he was fine, but her hands kneading into his shoulders felt so good that the just couldn't bring himself to say it. His right shoulder, in particular, had been causing him problems lately and her hands seemed to find all the right places.

It took a minute or two for the awkwardness to kick in. She really hadn't even though about it when she'd done it. Her temper had gotten the better of her when she'd realized that he'd still been working and yet hadn't taken care of his problem. She'd thought that he was smarter than that.

Her father had done the same thing years ago. He'd go to the bar and lift boxes of alcohol in the storeroom and then he'd come home every night rubbing his shoulder and saying that he was fine. It had upset her that he couldn't just say that he was in pain; that he'd tried to hide it from her. That was probably why she'd reacted so strongly to Kyouya's problem when she'd noticed it.

She kept her hands on his shoulders, but stopped the massage. "Kyouya, promise me that you'll take care of yourself." She didn't fully expect him to keep that promise, but somehow she knew that she would worry unless he said it out loud. He turned his head so he could see her and reached for her hand, "Don't worry Haruhi, I'll be fine."

*bump bump...bump bump...bump bump*


	11. Chapter 11 The Game Begins

Chapter 11

"Superintendent, I didn't expect to see you here." They had just arrived and she'd been feeling nervous the entire car ride, but she was feeling a little better after seeing a familiar face. "Haruhi please, Superintendent is so stuffy! Please, call me uncle." Good grief, again with the "uncle" thing. "If you're here, does that mean that Tamaki senpai is here as well?"

He grabbed her hand and went to kiss it, but paused when Kyouya came to stand next to her. "Good evening sir." She noticed his fake smile out of the corner of her eyes and wondered if it was as obvious to Yuzuru as it was to her. When his smile slipped and he grabbed her waist, she almost protested; until she heard the footsteps. "Haruhi!" Kyouya lifted her up and out of the way just in time for her to avoid being crushed by Tamaki.

"Look at my little girl! Isn't she just adorable! Oh, and she's all dressed up and all in white. She almost looks like a little bride!" Kyouya dropped his hands away from her almost immediately. Tamaki's words seemed to float around in his brain until he finally focused on just one...bride. "Tamaki senpai, can't you try to behave even in public?"

From that point on the conversation was lost to his ears. He glanced back over to Yuzuru and found that he was watching him intently. The unsettling sensation that had began to form in the pit of his stomach began to build as Yuzuru continued to watch him. He tried to think of why the superintendent would give him that look.

Haruhi had started coming to his house on a daily basis.

Haruhi's presence was being mandated at all public functions.

The public eye was watching as his family was seen bonding with her.

Kyouya's sister was away from her husband for an unknown reason bonding with Haruhi.

Kyouya was escorting her around.

"Excuse me." He left their little group and wondered around the party for a minute trying to figure out where his father had gone. He saw him walking towards the main house with a group of business associates at about the same time that he spotted his sister walking towards him. "Fuyumi, come with me for a minute. There's something that I need to ask you."

They walked to the edge of the garden where they could still be seen, but wouldn't be overheard by the other guests. "Fuyumi, why have you come here? Why haven't you gone back home?" She seemed surprised at first, but then she smile that little smile that she'd been giving him lately. "I came here to help you out silly."

He paused, but she didn't give further details. "What did you come to help me out with exactly?" He waited, hoping that she wouldn't confirm what he was starting to fear her response would be. "Father told me that you were starting to spend too much time with Haruhi. He said that your tutoring sessions lasted too long into the night and that he was afraid that the two of you were secretly seeing each other and just using the tutoring as an excuse."

"You know how father can be. If there's no political gain in a relationship then he doesn't approve. He would never let the two of you date just because you liked each other. So, I came to help."

When her answer seemed only to upset him, she tried to reassure him that it would be alright, but he didn't want assurances. He wanted to know what kind of game his father was playing. What was the old man up to? If it was truly the way that Fuyumi said, then why hadn't his father acted? Besides, neither of his brothers were married and he was sure that they had to have had girlfriends. So why would his father even care? Unless...

Perhaps he had it backwards. His father was also a master manipulator. Could it be that his father actually desired him to court Haruhi and so told Fuyumi a tale to throw him off track? He tried to think what the odds would be that his father would actually **want** him to date Haruhi. Considering the fact that she had no money, wasn't from a prestigious family, had a cross-dressing father, and had absolutely no remarkable achievements to speak of other than the fact that she'd made it into Ouran based on her grades...he just couldn't see it.

However, what would have made his father think that he was interested in her in the first place? Sure they hung out together, but it was the same with the other members as well. Although she was, admittedly, the first friend of the female persuasion that he'd actually had. Also there was the fact that he was tutoring him when there was absolutely no possible gain in it for him...and it took him away from doing other things with his days where he might actually prosper and further connections...and they'd even been eating meals together...and he always drove with her to ensure that she made it home alright...

Yes, he could see where his father may have gotten the idea in his head. Then why mandate her presence at these functions? He looked over to where he'd last seen her standing. She was still there talking with Tamaki even though he knew from experience that too much time with him only upset her. Plus, had he not picked out her clothing then she would have worn an unsuitable outfit...was he trying to show her that she didn't belong in his world?

Perhaps he should just inform his father that his assumption was incorrect. There was nothing currently going on between the two of them. They were just friends and he was tutoring her because...because...damn. What good reason could he give for it? He doubted his father would understand that he'd done it to save himself the headache of dealing with Tamaki if she was kicked out of Ouran.

His head started to hurt; maybe he was over-thinking all of this. He'd just inform his father that he'd heard from Fuyumi that he was dating Haruhi and that this information was incorrect. His father would believe him, stop being paranoid about it, and his life would go back to the way it was before Fuyumi came back home.

There was just one piece of this puzzle that he couldn't place no matter how hard he thought about it. If his father was worried that he was secretly dating Haruhi, then why would his father tell his sister about it? He knew better than anyone how romantically inclined his sister was, so shouldn't Fuyumi be the last person that his father would tell? He'd know what her reaction to something like this would be; she'd come to ensure that love triumphs...so why did it seem like his father was playing both sides?

He returned to Haruhi's side and put on his best host smile. One way or the other, he'd find out what his father was up to. Perhaps he'd even raise the stakes a little bit and actually court Haruhi for awhile. It would be interesting to see what his father's reaction would be. He'd have to get more aggressive one way or the other though, because he intended to figure out what game his father was playing...and to beat him at it.


	12. Chapter 12 Kyouya's Closet

Chapter 12

"Kyouya?" Haruhi had gone to his rooms, but he wasn't waiting for her on the sofa or desk like normal. "Hello?" Nope...he wasn't in here. She was about to leave when she realized that the door in the back of the room that was always shut was cracked open. She thought about leaving anyway, but if he was just in the other room then wouldn't it be silly for her to go grab a maid (who was probably very busy and over-worked in this house) just to ask the girl where Kyouya was only for her to find him in the back of his own room! She took a steadying breath and decided to go for it. She poked her head in and looked around. "Kyouya?"

She'd found him alright...and in the process of changing too! There he stood in nothing more than his boxers. Well, he had stepped into his pants, so they were partly on she guessed. The shock of finding him mostly naked definitely embarrassed her, yet she couldn't force herself to look away. She actually blushed and forced her eyes to look anywhere but at him. "I, um, I'm here."

"Haruhi, I'm pretty sure that you've seen me in my swimming trunks before haven't you? These are really no different." That wasn't true at all! His boxers were quite a bit shorter than his swimming trunks. "You always wear a shirt with your swimming trunks!" He laughed a little, which caused her to glance at him before she remembered that he was still practically naked. "I'm pretty sure that you've seen me shirtless before too. If I recall, when we went to the beach I gave you my shirt after Tamaki pulled you out of the water...so I was just in my swimming trunks then."

"That was different. We were out in the open and everyone was dressed that way." He finally pulled his pants on and started rummaging in his closet to find a shirt that he could throw on. "I also seem to recall you barging into my room that night as well and I was dressed the same way then as I am now." He had her there, but it still didn't make her feel like any less of a voyeur for walking in on him changing though.

"Yeah well, you weren't shirtless for too long; and since you were trying to scare me I didn't really get a good look at you anyway." He smiled to himself a little as a thought popped into his head. He stopped looking for a shirt and looked at her; she was still looking anywhere but at him. He had just decided that he was going to start courting her a little hadn't he?

He'd been about to reply when someone knocked on the entrance to his rooms. He stood and went to where Haruhi was, but by the time he got there, they both realized who it was. "Kyouya? I heard that Haruhi came over to study!" Fuyumi opened the door and looked in the room, but she didn't see anybody. She walked over to his bedroom door and knocked before opening it. That was funny, she could have sworn Haruhi had come here. Oh well, maybe they'd gone to her place or something.

Haruhi was trying hard to control her breathing; afraid that Fuyumi might hear it. As soon as they'd realized who it was knocking at the door Kyouya had grabbed her and yanked her into his room before shutting his door. She'd been a little startled, but considering the fact that Fuyumi would only interrupt their studies **and** try to play with her hair, she was more than willing to hide.

She'd thought just being in the room would have been enough, but Kyouya had soon opened his closet door and thrown her in it; with him following close behind. He was so close that she could feel his body heat. She'd been about to protest when she'd heard Fuyumi knock on his door and open it. She had decided then and there that she would just shut up and follow Kyouya's lead; after all, he probably knew his sister better.

They just stood there quietly for a minute. After nothing more happened, she became very aware of how close they were...and that Kyouya was still shirtless. Kyouya must have picked up on her agitation, because he leaned down close to whisper in her ear. "What is it?"

"You...uh...you're still naked." Even though he did it softly, she could still hear him laughing at her. "Haruhi, this is nowhere near naked...although if you want me to be, all you have to do is ask." He leaned towards her and placed his hands on either side of her head on the wall behind her as he said the last part.

"Kyouya, cut it out! We both know you're only saying that to mess with me...and why are we still in the closet? Surely your sister is gone by now!" He smiled, but didn't move away. "My sister has gone looking for us. When the staff confirms that you've come here to study she'll be back again to check. You can leave if you want, but she'll probably play dress up with you again."

If she had to choose between being stuck with Kyouya in a closet or sitting while Fuyumi "dolled her up" then she'd stay locked in the closet with Kyouya any day! It was a simple enough choice. She sighed and resigned herself to staying in here for another ten minutes or so. "Fine, but stop messing with me Kyouya senpai."

She hadn't thought it possible, but he moved even closer to her. "What makes you think I'm just messing around?" She could hear the smile in his voice and wanted to smack him for it. "We both know you won't do it. This is just like that time at the beach house. Then you were trying to teach me a lessong; now I think you're just bored."

"Perhaps you're right about me being bored, but never say that I won't do something Haruhi...you may not like the results." He straightened and she watched in horror as his hand moved to his waist. "Kyouya senpai, you can't possible mean to..." She looked up at the smile on his face and decided that maybe it was time that they left the closet.

Unfortunately, that meant she'd have to maneuver around Kyouya, since his body was between her and the door. "Kyouya, cut it out." He'd already undone his pants and was threatening to remove them. She was about to say more when she heard Fuyumi at the entrance to his sitting room again. She did the only thing she felt she could; she closed her eyes.

She heard a rustling sound that she hoped wasn't the sound of his pants hitting the floor, but she wasn't going to open her eyes to check. Besides, even if he did remove his pants, he'd still have his underwear on. She knew very well that he was just doing this to amuse himself at her expense; she'd find some way to pay him back for it. She heard Kyouya rustling around again, but she didn't care. Perhaps he'd gotten bored with the game and started putting his clothes back on.

She stayed still and kept her eyes closed until she heard Fuyumi open the door to his bedroom. What happened if she started looking around for them and found them in the closet? As her eyes shot open, it was almost as if she couldn't help checking to see whether or not he really had removed all of his clothing. She looked down in shock and he moved to put his hands on either side of the wall behind her again.

The worst part was...if she made the slightest noise then his sister would hear.


	13. Chapter 13 First Kiss?

Chapter 13

He was still in his boxers, but he may as well be fully naked from her reaction. She was watching him intently now; whether because she wanted to see if he'd strip completely or if she was looking for a chance to run out of the closet past him he wasn't sure, but at least now she was seeing him. He could almost kiss his sister for this. She had absolutely perfect timing!

He was debating how far he really wanted to take this. After all, he didn't want to scare her away. Then there was also the fact that, unlike the other host club members, he wasn't exactly used to putting himself on display. Although, he doubted that he'd get another opportunity as perfect as this. He watched as her eyes lowered to his waistband and he decided; he was an Ootori after all, and Ootori's didn't back down.

He moved one of his hands from the wall to his waistband and watched as her eyes grew larger. He shifted his hand to tug down a little on one side, then the other. He'd expected her to look away or close her eyes, but it was almost as if her gaze was transfixed upon his hand. It honestly made him nervous and if he was being honest with himself excited, but he'd already decided his course of action.

He was used to doing this with both hands! This one hand crap was just dragging it out and honestly making him feel like a bumbling idiot! He brought his other hand to his waist and decided to just get it over with already. He smiled when he saw her close her eyes and turn her head away...just before it was too late.

This was the kind of thing she would have expected from Hikaru and Kaoru...not Kyouya! Here she'd thought that it would be just a regular day of tutoring! She never should have poked her head through his bedroom door. This was her punishment. That had to be why Kyouya was doing this; to punish her for spying on him.

She risked opening her eyes just a little to risk a glance at his face. He was smirking at her. That bastard, she'd love to watch that self-satisfied smile get wiped right off of his face. She doubted he would have even bothered if he had actually believed that she'd look. He was banking on her reaction, and of course, he'd guessed her reaction accurately enough. Damn that Kyouya, it was really starting to piss her off!

Haruhi never was one to back down and let others have their way though. She fully opened her eyes and took a step towards him. She grinned a little when she saw the smile fall from his face. She put her hands on his shoulders, stood up on her tip-toes, and looked him straight in the eye. "If you don't put your clothes back on, I'm going to shove you out of the closet with your sister right there!"

She'd thrown him off guard a little, but shortly after her threat he was smiling again. "Really Haruhi? So you want my sister to find us together in the closet? I wonder what she'll think? After all, it would already look a little strange that we were hiding in my closet to begin with, so adding the fact that I'm naked..." He didn't finish; he didn't need to. He knew that she'd never do it and so did she.

"Fine then, if you don't put your clothes back on then I'll look!" He debated whether or not she really would...he doubted it. "Go ahead if you're so curious. What's the point in being on display if there's nobody to enjoy it?" Besides, at this point he really didn't care if she did or not. When all she did was glare at him, he figured now was as good a time as any to call it quits. He'd done what he'd set out to do anyway.

He grabbed a shirt from beside her head and pulled it on. Then he grabbed his boxers and his pants and finished dressing. After he was finished, he glanced back in her direction, but she was looking off to the side and refused to meet his gaze. He was about to comment on it when he heard his sister's footsteps drawing near to the closet. Haruhi must have heard it as well, because she looked at him with fear filled eyes. Before she had time to react, he bent down and kissed her.

"Oh!" That was all he heard before the door was promptly shut again. He pulled back a little, but her eyes were still closed; whether out of mortification or something else, he wasn't sure, but with her lips still moist from his kiss she suddenly looked more desirable than ever before. He found himself wanting to kiss her again, longer this time. He inched closer to her again, tempted to give into the desire to kiss her, but before his lips met hers again her eyes opened.

He froze like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. He didn't know what to do or say. She'd caught him trying to kiss her. The first time he could play it off as trying to fool his sister and say that it didn't mean anything, but anything after that was all on him! Stupid! He saw her eyes go from confused to something else, but he felt as if the walls were closing in on him. He needed to get out of there, so he turned and did the one thing an Ootori should never do; he fled.

He got to his bathroom, shut and locked the door, and then punched the wall. What the hell was the matter with him? He needed to calm down and think! He closed his eyes, but found that when he did he kept seeing Haruhi's face. "Kyouya?" He opened his eyes and looked at the door, but found that he really didn't want to talk right now.

"If you want to just skip tutoring for today that's fine. We can go over everything tomorrow." That sounded like a wonderful idea at the moment. "I'll see you tomorrow Haruhi." With that he stripped again and decided that a cool shower sounded like just the thing he needed to try to block her from his mind.

After his shower, he got on his bed and decided he needed to re-evaluate his decision to court Haruhi. Was it really worth it to continue playing this game? He looked next to his bed and saw a picture of his family and decided that yes, it was worth it. If his father was messing around and playing games then he'd be a fool to just let him have his way.

Feeling better, he sat up, only to find his sister watching him from the doorway. Great, this was just what he needed. "What do you want Fuyumi?" She quickly walked to his bed and sat down. The humungous smile on her face was enough to make him want to hit something. "So, about Haruhi..."

"Fuyumi, I don't want to talk about it." His sister's suspicions were confirmed in her mind and that was fine with him. He wanted to start publicly courting her, so having his sister see them kiss was fine, but he was still a little sensitive about it right now. "Kyouya, I know that falling in love is scary and that being found out is embarrassing, but having me as an ally against father should be more important right?"

She had a point; he could always use more allies against his father. Perhaps he was looking at this the wrong way. "Well Fuyumi, what do you suggest I do?" His sister wasn't the most intelligent person in the box, but she was one of the most romantic. Maybe her insight would point out things that he had missed before.


	14. Chapter 14 The Watanabe Family

Chapter14

Before she even set her things down, Kyouya dropped a bomb on her. "Haruhi, we have an unexpected dinner guest coming tonight. My father just informed me of it." He didn't sound too thrilled about it either. "Well, let's get some studying done before they get here then." She just smiled and sat down to pull out her things.

Whether she knew it or not, Fuyumi had decided that Haruhi would need something to wear and had yelled at their father saying how wrong it was for him to give her no notice like that. He'd actually been impressed with her. He couldn't remember a time where his sister had ever yelled at their father.

He decided he wouldn't mention that part to her yet. It was better to do as she said and study while they had the time. They started going over her French and English first because he figured the others would take too long. It would be best if they could cover as much ground as possible today since they had missed yesterday.

Fuyumi interrupted about an hour into their study session. Haruhi glared at him, but he just laughed and told his sister that they could use his bathroom to get ready. "I'm going to be changing out here too though, so you may want to knock and make sure it's safe before coming out." He tried to read Haruhi's reaction to his words, but his sister was busy dragging her into his bathroom.

Honestly, now that Haruhi was wearing the girl's uniform to school there really was no reason for Fuyumi to be so upset. It wasn't the fanciest outfit ever, but it should have sufficed for dinner. Maybe he should have said something earlier, but part of him loved it when she glared at him when his sister dragged her off; or when she made comments about how she'd rather be here studying with him than being with his sister.

He dressed quickly and went over to Haruhi's notes to ensure that the teachers had gone in the direction he had thought. Once he made sure they were still ahead of schedule as far as her studies were concerned, he made up some "homework" for her to do and decided that they hadn't actually lost much time even with the missed day.

They had all walked down together to meet his father's company. Although at first she had been annoyed that Fuyumi had played dress up with her yet again, now she was extremely grateful for it. Yoshio's company seemed to consist of one family that seemed to have stepped out of the pages of a magazine. Introductions were made and while she was sure that Kyouya and Fuyumi knew who these people were, nobody bothered to tell her.

The son, who was probably about a year or so older than Kyouya, looked alarmingly like Tamaki. She'd almost think that someone had given him a brown wig and green contacts if not for his voice and his attitude. He'd kissed her hand and introduced himself as Watanabe Seiichi. He was polite and respectful; there was no way that Tamaki senpai could pull that off.

His sister was a little bit older than she was, but only by a year or two. Her name was Kimiko and she was very small and elegant looking. When they'd been introduced, she'd given Haruhi a thorough once over before bothering with her at all. She had a feeling, she wouldn't like this girl much.

Dinner was a much different affair with guests over. They mingled in a room Haruhi hadn't seen before and waited for the staff to inform them that dinner was served. Yoshio led Fuyumi into the room and Mr. & Mrs. Watanabe followed suit. She'd fully expected Kyouya to lead her in, but to her surprise Seiichi walked over to her and presented her his arm. She smiled at him and let him lead her into the dinning room, noticing that Kyouya was left escorting Kimiko the ice queen. She couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

This was a much smaller dining room, but it was just as formal. Yoshio was seated at the head of the table, with Fuyumi sitting across from him. Mr. Watanabe was seated to Yoshio's right and Mrs. Watanabe to his left. She hoped that there wasn't a specific place that she was supposed to sit, because if there was then she was ignorant of it.

Thankfully, Seiichi directed her to the chair on the right of Fuyumi and pulled out her chair for her before seating himself across from her. She noticed that the arrangement left an open space to her right and she wondered who would fill it. She hoped that it wasn't Kimiko; she had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to speak all evening if she had to try to attempt small talk with her. Thankfully, when Kyouya pulled out a chair for her, it was the one next to her brother. She almost sighed with relief when Kyouya sat down next to her.

As dinner was served, she watched those around her with interest. It didn't take her long to figure out that Yoshio was wanting his company to form an attachment with Mr. Watanabe's company and that it seemed that Mr. Watanabe wanted the same. She was glad that Kyouya was between her and Mrs. Watanabe, because every time she heard the woman speak it was in English and although it was her favorite subject, she wasn't 100% sure that she could be considered fluent yet.

"I haven't heard of the name Fujioka, how are you acquainted with the Ootori family?" The ice queen was speaking to her. "I attend Ouran academy; I know Kyouya senpai from school." The girl was staring at her like she was a bug. She had a feeling that she was being targeted by her, but she couldn't understand why. She purposefully left out the fact that she was poor and only able to attend because of a scholarship; let her think she was more important than she was.

"How is it that your parents are not with us tonight?" She didn't feel like getting grilled, but it wasn't like she could tell the girl that she didn't want to talk to her. "Do your parents always escort you to a friend's house?" The girl glared at her, but didn't answer. What was with all of the hostility? Had she somehow managed to insult her without knowing it?

The questions were less frequent now, but every now and then she'd throw one out at her. She had started to get upset about it, but then the oddest thing happened; Kyouya reached out and grabbed her knee under the table and gave it a comforting squeeze. He'd answered that question for her and it was a good thing he'd done it because she was still in shock. She had to admit that she was grateful though, it had taken her mind off of the ice queen for a moment.

She let her left hand drop under the table and squeezed his hand in return as a way of saying thank you. She had meant to keep the contact brief, but as soon as her hand touched his he had entwined his fingers in hers and wouldn't let go. "Ms. Fujioka, is something the matter? You look troubled." Seiichi had been keeping up a steady stream of chatter with Fuyumi before this, and hadn't bothered to step in when his sister had been grilling her, so she wondered why he was showing concern now. He couldn't have noticed...could he?


	15. Chapter 15 Father's Surprise!

Chapter 15

After dinner, the Watanabe family left. She stuck by Kyouya's side and quietly followed him to his room. After they were inside, however, she let out all of the pent up energy she'd been holding in. "What the hell was with that girl? Did I do something to offend her that I don't know about?" He laughed and placed a hand on her head.

"Haruhi, I would have thought you'd have guessed by now, but let me explain it to you. The Watanabe family is wanting to make a connection to the Ootori family. Generally the way this is done is by two of the members marrying." Her eyes screamed, "no duh" and he wanted to laugh. "I believe the family was upset because they weren't expecting my girlfriend to be in attendance."

Her eyes widened a bit, but she didn't laugh or deny it; nor did she move away from him. "Just because I was there they think that?" She wasn't raised knowing that her marriage would be arranged and that dating the people around you was generally not allowed. "Haruhi, have you ever heard Tamaki, Honey, Mori, Kaoru, or Hikaru mention a girlfriend before?"

She hadn't, but then again she had figured that it was just because of who they were. Honey really wasn't mature enough, Mori was too busy with Honey, Tamaki threw his love around too frequently, and the twins were just now starting to open up to people. "The reason why is because it generally isn't allowed. Most of us are expected to marry who our parents tell us to. How much harder do you think it would be to marry a stranger if you're in love with someone else? That's why most of us wouldn't even think of dating." It was also why he shouldn't be standing so close to her right now.

Haruhi just stared at him. Of course those kind of marriages still existed; she just hadn't ever connected the host club to them. It made sense though; they were all from very prominent families. "So the family was upset because they were expecting to discuss marriage arrangements and felt that you bringing me here was a slap in the face and that Yoshio's allowing my presence was an even bigger insult. Why did they assume we were in a relationship in the first place though?"

She was so intelligent, and yet she could be so adorably clueless sometimes. Didn't she realize that most of the time people didn't have friends of the opposite sex? When someone saw two people of the opposite sex together, there was always an instant assumption that they were dating. "If you'd have had your father with you or if you were ugly then they probably wouldn't have thought it, but with a beautiful young woman sitting in on a family dinner, that was the only assumption they could draw."

She bit her lip and his eyes couldn't help but follow the motion. He was filled with the desire to pull her into his arms, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't want to risk what her reaction would be. At this point, there was no more denying it; he liked her. He liked her much more than he should all things considered; and it worried him.

He wasn't an idiot, he already knew it wouldn't be allowed. After all, his father was wanting to solidify a relationship with the Watanabe family and their daughter was closer to his age than any of his brothers; and his sister was already married. His father would want him to start to court Kimiko. Normally, it was a request that he'd have no trouble following; it would be just another thing he'd have to do in order to please his father.

Yet now, he couldn't help but feel like courting Kimiko was the last thing that he wanted to do. Of course, he didn't have to if he didn't want to. He'd made sure long ago that if he wasn't named his father's successor that he'd still be successful. If his father pressed the issue, then he'd just have to decide which he wanted more; to please his father or to have his own life.

Then again, he was sure that his father wouldn't press the issue for at least until Kimiko had graduated high school. It would be unseemly for them to marry so young. His father would want a long, drawn out courtship in the public eye so that it would seem like two important people just so happened to meet and want to marry instead of the business arrangement they all knew that it would be. By then anything could happen. He might even lose interest in Haruhi; somehow though, he doubted it.

Perhaps he should cut back their tutoring. Their sessions did seem to last for hours and they were already so far ahead. Plus, it was only required for her to come over three times a week. He'd decided their study schedule when he was still pissed at his father's pronouncement about her failure being his failure. It wasn't actually needed.

Cutting back their study time shouldn't hurt her grades and perhaps it would allow him to focus more. Perhaps all the time spent together was responsible for the interest in her that he just couldn't seem to shake. Plus, it would give him time to start courting Kimiko, which he was sure his father would insist upon. Although...he didn't understand it.

His father had been so adamant lately about Haruhi coming to social events. Why? He didn't buy his father's explanation that it was because of Fuyumi; especially since people were starting to wonder if perhaps the reason Haruhi and Fuyumi were getting close was because of him. He had started to think that his father was purposefully throwing them together, but then Fuyumi had said that she was there because his father **didn't** want the two of them together.

His father was maneuvering better than he was. He still hadn't fully been able to catch onto his plan. Throwing the Watanabe family into the mix just confused him all the more. After all, if he really had wanted him to start courting Kimiko, then shouldn't he have refused to allow Haruhi to attend tonight? He had to have known what it would look like.

Or had the Watanabe family already heard the rumors circulating about himself and Haruhi? Had he wanted her present so that he could show them that she wasn't a threat? Although, if that was the case then why had Kimiko grilled Haruhi so much? Surely his father could have answered those questions so that they would be more at ease.

"Kyouya senpai, you've just been standing there doing nothing for the past few minutes; what's the matter?" He didn't want to tell her any of it. It would probably only hurt her to know that she was being caught up in the middle of his father's game. So instead he simply smiled and walked over to where her notes were so he could get ready to take her home for the night.

The ride was quiet; he was still trying to figure out what he father was planning. It was just like any other typical night that he'd brought her home. The car stopped, but this time rather than just watching her climb the stairs to her door he got out of the car as well. Honestly, he hadn't even thought about it. He'd been so caught up in his thoughts that when the door stopped he just got out.

Oh well, he'd walk her up. She brought out her keys and unlocked it, but when she opened the door the lights were on. "Haruhi! Where have you been all this time I thought that... Hello Kyouya." Getting out of the car was definitely a mistake. He had a feeling that now he'd have to explain to Ranka that it wasn't what it looked like...and yet he still didn't want to tell him the truth.


	16. Chapter 16 Homecoming

**So, the next few chapters will probably be a little on the dry side since I'm setting up for future plans. Kyouya will get a little repetative and boring; sorry about that. I'll try to update again soon.**

Chapter 16

Usually, Ranka was always so happy to see him; especially when he was spilling juicy tidbits about Haruhi's life that he normally wouldn't be privy to. Normally, the expression on his face right now would be reserved for Tamaki. Well, there was nothing for it but to go in and sit down. Something would come out of this night one way or the other and standing here doing nothing wouldn't prevent it.

"How are you doing Ranka? Haruhi had told me you had work tonight...are you feeling well?" Ranka's expression softened a little, but he still wasn't back to his girlish self. "A big customer came in and trashed the place. He paid for it all, plus some for the inconvenience. So, we all got to go home early tonight and we'll have paid vacation for a few days until the repairs are completed."

"Wow Dad, that's great! It's not often that you get a paid holiday like this! I'm sure it'll do you good!" Her genuine enthusiasm seemed to soften Ranka up even more, but Kyouya wasn't a fool. He knew that sooner or later he was going to want answers. Right now, he was just being polite and letting them explain before he jumped to conclusions. It was probably a courtesy given only because it was him; Tamaki would have been dead by now.

"Ranka, I'm sure that you must be wondering why it is that I'm dropping Haruhi home so late." What was he going to say? "The truth of the matter is that Haruhi's grades fell and she's been coming over to my house for tutoring after school each day. She should have the paperwork somewhere in her room. My apologies for not informing you of this sooner, but Haruhi didn't want you to worry about her."

It was all the truth...and Haruhi was glaring at him. He had a feeling she'd be a little peeved at him for the next few days, but he honestly couldn't think of anything else other than the truth that would get them out of this situation so easily. The only other explanations he could come up with is that they were dating or that he had her over at his house for moral support because he was meeting his "future wife"; he didn't like either of those options.

Haruhi sighed and went to her room to get the tutoring papers. She dropped them on the table and waited while her father reviewed them. Since they had been logging her study hours, it showed which days she'd been at his house and for how long. It also had a page in the back where her grades were being kept track of.

Ranka's expression turned from serious to completely paternal. He knew his daughter well enough to know that she was like that. She wouldn't want him to worry over her grades. It surprised him a little to hear that they had dropped, but then she'd gone ahead and taken corrective action all on her own. "So, what are the chances that this is all just a cover and that you two were really on a date?"

It caught him so off guard that he laughed. This must have pissed Haruhi off even more than she already was though. "Oh no, he wouldn't be dating me. We just had dinner with his future wife the ice queen. All things considered, I think they're perfect for each other!"

With that she stormed off to her room and slammed the door shut. Ranka looked mildly surprised, but it made Kyouya smile. For just one second, he let himself believe that she was jealous. "Is that true Kyouya? Are you getting engaged to an ice queen?" He glanced over at Ranka and saw the twinkle in his eye. "I'm not sure."

Ranka was, of course, relieved that his daughter had found herself a tutor. Kyouya promised to have a few study sessions over at their place every once in awhile; especially when he didn't have to work or when he went in late. More than likely it meant that until the repairs were finished at the bar that they'd be going over there for studies; it probably meant they'd get less work done too. Perhaps he should bring Fuyumi with him; she and Ranka should have enough in common.

He was almost late to school. He'd neglected his work and had gone straight to bed; apparently, his lack of sleep had caught up to him. The full night's rest was good for him; he hadn't been thinking clearly for the past few days. His refreshed mind picked up on something that he couldn't believe he'd missed before; he'd never heard of the Watanabe family.

Arranged marriages had always been part of the deal for him, but he knew that he would at least know of the person beforehand because he kept abreast of all of the top companies in Japan. His father wouldn't have him marry unless there was a benefit for the company. He needed to figure out what company Mr. Watanabe headed and why his father would be interested in such an unprofitable company.

What he found confused him. According to the data he'd collected, Mrs. Watanabe was the head of the company. Her English was very good considering the fact that she was German. She owned her own law firm and it had a very nice record; however it wasn't a huge company by any means. What the hell was his father doing? There was no way that he'd ever think to marry him off to such a family. A connection like that wasn't worth it!

His brain kept going around and around with all the different possibilities. What was he missing? What was his father up to? Why couldn't he figure it out? He couldn't blame a lack of sleep; he'd just gotten one of the most restful nights of sleep that he could remember having in a very long time. So why couldn't he make all the pieces fit together then?

He tried going over it in his head again, but it still just didn't add up. He was getting too stressed out over this. He needed to think calmly or he'd never fit all the pieces together. He barely payed attention to his classes and was distracted during club hours. He barely saw anything in front of him he was so fixated on his father's game. He was at Haruhi's house before he even realized it.

Ranka was the one who slapped him out of it; literally. He rubbed his cheek and looked at the worried faces in front of him before pasting a fake smile on his face and turning the charm on Ranka for a little while while Haruhi cooked. He wasn't a host for nothing; he knew how to distract people. They were already worried about him, but he didn't want them prying. He had a feeling neither one of them would like what he was thinking about.

He'd been right about the need to bring Fuyumi. Ranka hated it when they studied French together. At first, he'd been amused and watched the two of them converse back and forth in what he'd called "such a pretty language". However, after a couple of minutes he'd been completely bored with it. He'd tried doing things around the house on his own, but it didn't last long.

"So what are you talking about?" It was like having an overexcited puppy watching them study; or like having Tamaki watching them study. It just didn't work. He had a feeling that this entire week would be shot as far as studying went. Not that this week would go over well anyway; Haruhi was still upset with him. He noticed her staring at him and it made him wonder if she'd be able to figure out his father's game. Of course, there was no way that he could tell her that.


	17. Chapter 17 Flowers?

Chapter 17

When he got home, he went to his room and fell to the bed with a huge sigh. His sister was sitting off to the side, but he didn't really care if she saw him like this. She'd been the one person in his family that he'd cared the least about hiding his true feelings from. "What's the matter Kyouya?"

He rolled on his side and looked at his sister's worried expression. He was still nervous about trusting her, but it was idiotic not to; she was the one person in this family that truly acted like she cared for him in a normal family way. "Haruhi's mad at me. She said that the "ice queen" and I were perfect for each other." At her confused expression, he decided to clarify a little, "Kimiko would be the ice queen."

His sister's laughter brought a smile to his face; the name was fitting for her after all. "Oh Kyouya that's perfect! Can't you see, she's just jealous! She's worried that you're going to leave her. All you have to do is reassure her of your affection; it's that simple!"

"I don't think you understand though, she's mad at me." Fuyumi stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "Well if that's the only problem then send her some flowers and a card that says your sorry. What have you done any of the other times you've gotten in a fight?"

What she said made sense, but then again he'd never argued with a female before. He'd always been hosting and had never done anything except for what they wanted. It was always an act. "Kyouya, is this your first fight?"

She was giving him such a pitying expression that he felt somewhat inferior. "Never mind Fuyumi; just forget I said anything." He didn't need her pity. He'd been in a fight with Tamaki dozens of times and he was familiar enough with hosting to know what one should do when one was in a fight. It wasn't like he was stupid and didn't know what to do when a woman was upset. He just didn't think it quite applied here.

Sure there was something between the two of them, but they weren't dating. Plus she was upset about him telling her father about the tutoring so it didn't count as a lover's quarrel...right? "Fuyumi..." He couldn't do it. He just couldn't decide like that. It would be so easy to ask his sister for help with this and yet he found he couldn't do it. He didn't want to deceive her into thinking that she was helping love win when there was no love to begin with.

She was looking at him expectantly, but he just couldn't do it. "Do you think that you could come with me tomorrow to our tutoring session? It's going to be at her place this time and she's going to cook." He couldn't quite meet her eyes, but her expression was softer than it had been before and that was just as bad. "Of course Kyouya."

When she left the room he pulled out his phone and placed an order for a dozen white roses with a card that read, "I'm sorry...Kyouya". He wasn't sure if they'd have the effect his sister seemed to think they'd have, but perhaps they'd soften her up enough to where they could work through the session without her glaring at him quite as much.

After school his sister came to pick them both up. The car ride was filled with Fuyumi's chatter, but Haruhi was still acting surly. They walked up the steps and opened the door...and Ranka nearly knocked them over in his excitement. "Haruhi, come and look at the beautiful flowers that Kyouya sent you! He says he's sorry by the way!"

Sitting there at the table was the flowers. Perhaps he should have thought about the timing of this a little better. Arriving at the same time she received the flowers just sort of made this...awkward. "Oh Kyouya, you sent them after all! I'm so proud of you!" Fuyumi gave him a big hug and he nearly lost it. Awkward situations just didn't happen to an Ootori; nor did they get teased.

He tried to turn and walk away, but Ranka wouldn't let him. "I'm sure that the two of you need to talk about it so just go ahead and sit down. Fuyumi and I will go out on the town, how does that sound Fuyumi?" They both smiled and he felt the desire to kill one, if not both of them. "That sounds like a plan Ranka. You know, I've always wanted to see where you work..." The voices trailed off as the two of them left down the stairs.

"Um, senpai, don't you think this is a little bit much? I mean, I get that you're just trying to apologize, but aren't flowers just..." she tried to finish with a straight face, but her laughter finally broke through. He looked so frustrated and embarrassed. She was laughing so hard that her sides were starting to hurt.

"They were Fuyumi's idea." He didn't want to talk about any of it, but at least she was laughing. "She said that if I made you mad that I should send you flowers and say that I'm sorry. I thought that it would be a little over the top, but then I didn't have any better ideas. I'm used to hosting people...and I've never had to apologize to anyone before."

It made sense in an odd way, although she'd never thought about it before. He came from an important family and had always lived up to, or exceeded everyone's expectations. Although... "Surely you've had friends that you've had to apologize to before; right?"

He didn't want to go into it with her. "I've never had friends until the host club and I've already told you that those friendships are only because they benefit me right?" He didn't look at her when she said it, but she just couldn't imagine it. It sounded like an even lonelier existence than the twins had grown up with.

Kyouya was the "shadow king" of their little group, so she couldn't imagine him ever having to apologize to any of them...could it be that he didn't know how to apologize to someone and that was why he'd turned to Fuyumi for help? She turned to look at the flowers on the table and decided that was probably the case; it made her want to cry. "Well I can't imagine there being much of a benefit to being my friend, so why go through all the trouble?"

It was a good question. It was true that there was no real benefit in her friendship, yet he couldn't think of not having it. Honestly, he had just wanted things to go back to the way things were. He wanted her to tell him that she liked being there studying with him and wanted to laugh when she said something incorrectly in French or English and wanted to find moments where she surprised him with pillows or massages or...

He walked over to where she, but she didn't turn around. He couldn't find the right words to let her know what he was feeling. He wished he could explain it, but he wasn't sure that he really understood it fully himself. He placed his arms around her shoulders and gave her an awkward hug. "I just want things to be like they were. I didn't like when you were mad at me."

Neither one of them moved; they just stood there quietly. She leaned back against him after a minute, but they didn't speak. They just stood there and silently agreed to forgive and forget and move on.


	18. Chapter 18 Party Plans

Chapter 18

Ranka was back at work, but today was a day that Ranka wanted to eat with them before heading out. He actually found that he liked tutoring on days when Ranka left right after dinner because nobody interrupted them for anything. At least, usually they weren't interrupted. Today seemed to be an exception.

"Yes father. Of course. I understand." Haruhi couldn't grasp much of the conversation from Kyouya's one word answers, but it seemed like he only contacted Kyouya to tell him that there was yet another event that they would be attending. She was patiently waiting to be proven wrong, but she seriously doubted that would happen; especially since he was frowning in her direction now.

"We have been invited to a party that is being held by the Watanabe family. Apparently, it is Seiichi's birthday today. I know you're going to hate this part, but it seems as if you've been invited as well. My father is sending a car around now to pick us up." He was right, she did hate that part.

"Do you think you can manage an outfit or should I grab something for you?" She was about to tell him that she could pick out her own damn clothing, but then she remembered how polished the Watanabe family all looked and thought better of it. "Oh come on then!"

He was trying to kill her and Fuyumi was the accomplice! How did he expect her to walk in those shoes all night? "I'm telling you I can't do it!" He just kept holding them out to her. "Haruhi, do I need to help you change as well?" He took a step towards her with the heels of doom and she backed into the wall. He wouldn't really do it...he wouldn't dare...right?

"I'll be in too much pain to walk. I'd need crutches before the night is finished!" He just kept walking towards her with the black stilettos. "If you need to then you can lean on my arm for support, but those shoes are going to be your best bet with that dress. Now put them on or I will Haruhi...and don't tell me that I won't! You still remember what happened last time you did that don't you?"

She did remembered and all too vividly. "All right, you win! Happy now?" He waited while she changed, but when she was finished he pushed her back into the room. He knew his sister and fashion, she had to have bought...ah, there they were. "Kyouya senpai what are you doing!" She tried to stop him from rummaging around in her underwear drawer, but it was hard in these heels.

"You can't wear a camisole under that dress because you can see the straps. You need a strapless bra." She grabbed his hands to stop him from going through her things. She was going to kill him. "If I wear the stupid jacket you picked out then why will it even matter? Nobody will see the straps!"

Unfortunately for her, he was stronger than she was. "If we go inside then the jacket will be removed for you." He managed to get both of her wrists in one of his hands, which left the other one free to pick up the item that he'd spied earlier. "So I'm supposed to wear that stupid thing based on an if?" She knew he was right, but she'd be damned if she admitted it.

He laid the bra on her desk, but he didn't release her hands. "Haruhi, I'm going to give you thirty seconds." His free hand moved to her zipper and started to move it slowly downwards. "If you don't change into that bra in that time then I'll help you get into it." That said he released her and started counting.

"One...two...three..." He didn't even turn around! He just started counting! "Can you at least turn around?" He just stood there and kept counting though. "Seven...eight...nine..." She started to get a little scared that she wouldn't be able to finish changing in the next twenty seconds. She grabbed the bra and turned around to take her camisole off. "Thirteen...fourteen...fifteen..." His counting just made her nervous and she fumbled with the clasps, but she eventually got them done and the bra in place. She had just finished zipping up her dress when he finished counting.

She would have yelled at him, but at that moment the driver knocked on the door. "Come on, we may as well get this over with." They went into the car and the driver started driving the wrong direction. Kyouya asked him where they were going and the driver handed him a satchel. "Your father said that you'd be late if you went back to the house to change, so he sent clothing for you. He said he expected you to be presentable by the time you arrived."

That said, the driver rolled up the window that separated the driver from the limo's occupants and left the two of them alone. "Oh Kyouya!" He was really starting to hate the sound of her laughter. "Are you going to change or do you need me to help you?" He was about to snap that he could dress himself just fine, but he knew that she was just teasing him. Unfortunately for her, he knew that she was all bark and no bite.

"If you're going to offer assistance, then by all means." She stopped laughing and he smiled. He took off his uniform blazer and pulled his tie loose. Her face was a deep red when he bent down to untie his shoelaces. "What's the matter Haruhi? I thought you were going to help me?"

At first she'd thought the look on his face when the driver had told him he had to change in the car was priceless. She'd thought that it had served him right all things considered. She didn't believe that he'd actually start changing in front of her. "You're not afraid of seeing me naked again are you?"

He laughed when she turned her face away. He wouldn't torture her any further. He just decided to strip down and change into the suit that his father had left for him. "Are you finished?"

When he didn't respond after a minute she decided to risk peeking. He was done changing, but he was staring off into the distance with a frown etched into his features. What could have had him so distracted that he didn't even hear her? She'd noticed him getting distracted more and more lately and it made her worry what was troubling him so much.

He didn't snap out of it until the car stopped. Only then did he realize that he'd been silent for the duration of the ride. He'd been thinking again. Trying to maneuver the mental chess board in his mind. What did this last move mean? Why would his father not have had the driver give him the clothing when they were at Haruhi's place? He could have easily changed in Ranka's room and avoided the whole embarrassing situation. So why did the driver wait until they were on the road?

He wouldn't have unless it was his father's order to do so. No driver would want to risk the punishment that would come from embarrassing an Ootori. So that meant that his father **wanted** him to be trapped in the car with Haruhi and for him to change in front of her. Why? What angle was he missing?

Not that he minded; he was starting to really enjoy the tension between Haruhi and himself in these embarrassing moments. He found that in a situation where he'd normally be mortified, he wasn't. As long as he could maneuver it to where she was the one who was embarrassed he wasn't embarrassed at all! In fact, he looked forward to the next time he could see her face turn that crimson shade.


	19. Chapter 19 Seeing Red

Chapter 19

When they stepped out of the limo many eyes turned their way. He pulled her arm through his and walked at a pace that he hoped Haruhi would have no problems with in those shoes. A few acquaintances called out to him, but he just kept walking. He needed to find either their host or his own family. He scanned the yard and finally caught sight of Seiichi.

He steered her over to where Seiichi was and finally stopped in front of him. "Happy Birthday!" Generally the sentiment was said in the same way one would say hello or goodbye, but not from Haruhi. She said it with happiness and sincerity and it made both of the men smile. "Thank you Ms. Fujioka. It's wonderful to see you both tonight."

He eventually discovered that his family had not yet arrived. It was still in the early stages of the party however, so he wasn't overly worried. People were milling around the yard and chatting, so he decided to introduce Haruhi to some of his acquaintances; although he was starting to get annoyed. Many of the people he introduced her to hinted at their relationship. Nobody ever asked them outright, but some were less than subtle.

They only had to endure about an hour of small talk with people that barely knew him before the party was moved indoors. He noted that his family had yet to arrive and he wondered what was keeping them. He tried to call, but nobody answered. This bothered him more than he would admit to...because somebody **always** answered the phone at the house. It made him wonder what was going on.

He had purposefully held back so that he could try to call his family yet again, but he was still unsuccessful in reaching anyone. There were already people on the dance floor when they made it inside. He was tempted to sweep her on the floor with the other dancers, but if he knew anything about Haruhi he knew this: she adored food. So, with that in mind he scanned the room and found where the refreshments had been set up.

She had just about finished her plate when Seiichi came up to her and asked her to dance. Considering the fact that he had the same thing on his mind, he was a little upset that Seiichi had beat him to the punch. He watched her hesitate trying to figure out what to do with her glass and Seiichi flagged a butler standing nearby to take the items from her before taking her out into the sea of smiling faces. His eyes never left her.

At first it had taken some willpower to stop himself from breaking up their dance. Whatever Seiichi had said to make her blush had seriously pissed him off. By the end of their dance though, he couldn't hide his grin. She wasn't used to the shoes so she wasn't as graceful as she normally would have been. Plus, the majority of her dancing skills had been practiced with her leading so she had a tendency to try to lead and it confused Seiichi. Add to that the fact that he kept up a steady stream of chatter so she wasn't concentrating on her dancing 100%...Seiichi's toes would probably hurt just as much as hers did by the end of this dance.

When their dance finally ended he was there to twirl her into the next one. Unlike Seiichi, he knew how to dance with Haruhi without getting her to lead or getting his toes stepped on. Their dance went much smoother and he was very smug about it. Those on the sidelines definitely noticed the difference.

They also noticed that Kyouya held her much more closely than Seiichi had done. That combined with the way that he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her made more than one female heart see red. Many of the girls here had fantasized about marrying him. Kyouya was considered a great catch and none of them liked to see him so enamoured of this girl; especially not Kimiko who had bragged that she just might be engaged to him soon.


	20. Chapter 20 Her Feelings

Chapter 20

"So what did he say to you anyway?" He felt better after their dance, but he was still curious about what Seiichi had said to make her blush so. He knew it didn't really make sense, but making her face turn red was his own secret pleasure; so knowing that someone else did it bugged the hell out of him. "We talked about the fact that both of us want to be lawyers. In fact, he's already working towards obtaining his degree and he wants to work for his mother's firm. His family is wanting to extend the business so that there would be a branch in Germany and in Japan."

He waited until they were both seated before he continued; he noticed how much she was leaning on him after that dance and thought that it was time to give her feet a rest. "What did he say that made you blush?" He could hear all about the Watanabe law firm from his father. All he wanted to know is what Seiichi said to her about **her.**

"I'll tell you later okay?" He'd let it slide for now. It would probably bother him for the remainder of the evening, but if she said she'd tell him later then she'd tell him later; he wouldn't press it. He'd simply bide his time until the drive home and hopefully he'd be able to convince her to tell him then. So for the rest of the evening they chatted and he had to pretend that he wasn't obsessing over it.

...He was still obsessing over it. The rest of the evening had been a trial on his nerves. Kimiko had come over to talk to him and he could tell that she was waiting to be asked to dance. He probably should have asked her, but he didn't feel like putting up with her right now. Then there was the guy that had attempted to ask Haruhi to dance; he was pretty sure the look he had given him had made him change his mind; as well as the minds of everyone else in the room who had seen it.

Now though, they were in the car and he wanted to know what had been said. He was about to ask her when she pointed out something that he hadn't realized. "Your family never showed up to the party. It wasn't very fair that I had to go, but your father didn't." She was right. Considering the fact that business negotiations had already begun between their families he should have attended. What could his reason be for skipping out?

That also reminded him that he hadn't been able to reach anybody on the phone. He took his cell out and tried again; only to meet with the same results. He knocked on the glass and the driver rolled it down. "Go straight home. We'll bring Ms. Fujioka home later." The driver just nodded and rolled the window back up. There was nothing that could be done until he got to the house; at least not about that.

"So what did he say to you?" She looked confused for a minute before it dawned on her what he was referring to. "He said that you hadn't taken your eyes off of me for even one second." There was more to it than that, he could feel it. Somehow it just didn't seem finished. "What else?"

"He had asked whether or not we'd set a date yet. When I told him that we weren't engaged he'd laughed and said that if the death glare that you were sending his way was any indication that he had no doubts that I'd get one before the year was finished." He didn't know how to react to that. His first reaction was pleasure that it had been about him. His second reaction was anger at himself for allowing himself to get so possessive.

She wasn't looking at him again. It was so unlike Haruhi that it made him uncomfortable. Things weren't often awkward between them. There was the time he'd apologized and the time right after the pillow incident; even their embarrassing moments hadn't been awkward. He tried to think of a way to break the tension, but couldn't come up with anything. What could he say?

The rest of the drive was made in silence, but he couldn't stop himself from glancing her way every now and then. He couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking about and yet he was too much of a coward to ask. He was almost relieved when he looked out the window and noticed they were at his home, but when they pulled into the driveway he immediately knew that something was wrong. There were too many unlit rooms.

He couldn't find a single person in the house. He searched every room with the same result; empty. He tried his father and sister again, but neither one of them answered. Haruhi looked worried and for some reason it made him question something that he hadn't thought of before; he called Ranka.

...ring...ring...ring...no response. His work number met with the same response. Dammit! What the hell was going on! What was his father doing now? It didn't make sense! What could this move possibly accomplish besides driving him insane? What if this wasn't his father's doing? "What's up Kyouya senpai?"

He hadn't told her that he hadn't been able to contact Ranka either. "I should have left the party earlier when I couldn't reach anyone. I should have known that something was wrong." He slammed his hand against the nearest wall. He felt incompetent in the worst possible way. He was an Ootori wasn't he? Shouldn't he be able to tell when things weren't adding up right?

Well he did have some ideas about what this game between his father and himself was about, but the conclusions he kept drawing just didn't make any sense. Why would his father keep throwing him and Haruhi together? If his father really did want them to be together then why not just come out and say it? He had to know that he would do anything he wanted him to. All he had to say is that he wanted him to date Haruhi and he would do it...so why did he get the feeling that this game was pointing that way and why didn't it make any sense?

Was it some sort of test? Was his father throwing them together to see if he could resist the temptation of something that he could never have? He was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed Haruhi walking towards him. She put her arms around him and squeezed tightly. "Don't worry Kyouya senpai, I'm sure everyone is fine."

He didn't even know that he'd needed a hug. He'd been stressed out and to the point of ripping his hair out, but that one little touch from her...combined with nine small little words...it was enough to make his muscles relax and his mind to clear. Who knew that a hug could do so much?

"Haruhi..." He'd been about to do something completely stupid. He'd been about to ask her what she thought about Seiichi's idea; about the two of them getting engaged. His brain must have detached itself from his mouth for a second. There was no way that something like that would happen. She wouldn't want to be attached to the Ootori name like that and there was no way that she would want to stay by his side for the rest of her life...or could she?

Was that what he wanted? Why did he keep thinking about it if he didn't? She affected him like nobody else ever before. She could make him confident in unfamiliar situations, calm him when he was upset, and she was definitely the only person who had ever made him feel helpless. It was also true that he was already so possessive over her that gossip had started to spread.

So would it be worth it? He was a shrewd business man if nothing else. Big decisions required careful consideration before a definite answer could be found. Would spending the rest of his life with Haruhi be worth losing the position he'd worked so hard to get to? He'd wanted to badly to be his father's heir. Would he be better off marrying some stranger for the position or would it be better to forgo the position and marry someone that he loved.

...someone he loved. It almost sounded like something that his sister would say. He could just hear her now. "Kyouya, you have to marry for love! Any other type of marriage is no marriage at all!" Yep, it sounded just like her. Maybe he'd been around her for too long; she was starting to rub off on him.

"Kyouya senpai!" There was a slight stinging sensation in his shin that he didn't recall having before. "I said we should get back to my place before my father starts to worry. We can tell him everything that happened." He almost refused, but he didn't want to worry her if there was truly nothing the matter. Perhaps Ranka was just asleep or too drunk to answer his phone; he was sort of infamous for forgetting to answer.

He opened the door for her and instructed the driver to take them to her place. The strange awkward atmosphere was back, but this time he didn't want to let it stick around. Whatever had made things awkward between the two of them, he would fix it. "Haruhi, what has you so worked up?"

"Worked up? What do you mean worked up? I'm not worked up at all Kyouya senpai." Her fake laughter and dismissive hand gestures looked vaguely familiar; something was definitely up. "It wouldn't have anything to do with what Seiichi said now would it?" She glared at him and he smiled. Bingo.

He forced himself to move casually, although he was nervous. He sat on her left and leaned close; she reflexively backed away from him. "Whatever is the matter Haruhi?" The more she leaned away the further he got to her. "You're too close!"

"Fine, I'll back off...," she looked relieved to hear it, "...after you tell me why you're acting so strangely." Her eyes glanced across to the empty seat there, but he wasn't going to let her escape so easily and she knew it. "You're the one who's acting strange Kyouya senpai." He smiled and backed away a little; maybe he was at that.

She looked both relieved and disappointed and it made him want to do something that he'd found himself yearning to do more and more whenever he was in her presence...he wanted to kiss her. Surely kissing her now would help to solve at least one question; did she have any feelings for him? In all of his musings he kept overlooking that fact. Sure she cared for him and they'd gotten close, but were those feelings purely platonic or something more? Well, only one way to find out.

She knew something was up before he even moved. It was in his eyes...like a molten determination. It both frightened and excited her. His eyes focused completely on her and she felt her breathing quicken. He leaned closer to her in a way that could only mean one thing and her heart started beating triple time. His arm had found itself around her and his fingers were at her neck. He couldn't mean to kiss her...could he?

"Kyouya senpa..." she didn't get to finish her question...and somehow her eyes seemed to close all on their own.


	21. Chapter 21 Explainations

Chapter 21

He was starting to feel like maybe he shouldn't have done this. She didn't respond at first, which had made him feel worried that perhaps she didn't have those kinds of feelings for him. He was disappointed, but he told himself that it was for the best. He was just about to end their kiss when he felt her start to kiss him back.

It was just a slight pressure, but it gave him the answer that deep down he'd been hoping for. Haruhi wasn't the type of girl to let just anybody kiss her. While it made him happy that he'd found his answer, it also posed another problem. He didn't want to let her go. He'd never felt this wild desire before. He felt like he HAD to kiss her; that he'd go mad if he stopped.

He shifted a bit on the seat and brought her closer to him. She made a slight squeaky noise, but didn't protest. He slanted his mouth more fully over hers and licked at her lips. To his delight, and terror, she allowed him the entrance that he so desired. As his tongue met hers pure fire ran through his veins and he wondered if he was the only man to ever be so affected by a woman.

He couldn't think anymore...and apparently neither could she, because neither one of them noticed that they had long since reached their destination. The overly-loud clearing of the driver's throat was the only reason he'd noticed at all. As he looked in that direction, he noticed that the driver was facing forward, but that the window was rolled down the entire way. "We're here sir."

He looked out the window and saw exactly what he'd expected to see; not a single light was on in the apartment. "Come on Haruhi, let's go up." She didn't meet his gaze, but she nodded and started to scoot towards the car door. The driver was already around the side of the car and within seconds opened it for them.

Haruhi must have been too distracted by her thoughts to have noticed the lack of life coming from the apartment, because when she opened the door she was completely shocked to find it empty. "Father? Are you here?" She went to each room, but he didn't help her search; he already knew what she'd find.

"Perhaps we should try his work?" He didn't want to tell her that he'd already tried calling, but he didn't seem to have much choice if he wanted her cooperation. "Haruhi, just as I had tried calling my family earlier I also tried getting in touch with your father...there was no answer." Now she looked worried and it made him want to throw his arms around her and tell her it would all be okay; she generally looked defiant and proud, but right now she just looked vulnerable.

"I have a feeling that my driver knows a thing or two about what is going on here. Should we go down and demand some answers?" He couldn't help but smile when she glared in the direction of the door. Of course she'd be pissed off if he knew anything about this. He was surprised that she automatically took his word for it though. Normally Haruhi would be skeptical and wonder whether or not the driver could possibility know anything about any of this, but apparently this time, she was willing to take his word for it.

They walked back down to the car and the driver was standing there waiting for them. "Is anything the matter sir?" He smiled one of his hosting smiles at the man, "Could you take us to where my father is please?" The driver then opened the door for them and proceeded to get into the car and drive off. Damn the bastard anyhow! What was the point in this mad goose chase?

Haruhi had tried to question the driver on the way, but it was useless; his father must have directed him not to say anything about the situation. His head hurt, but he still continued to try to figure out what his father was up to. However, just like an expert go player looking at the board, he could tell that he'd been skillfully defeated. His father had outmaneuvered him at every turn. He'd been confused the entire time and honestly he'd had quite enough of this. He was tempted to tell his father this when they met, but at the same time he wasn't sure he'd be able to bring himself to do it! Ootori's were supposed to be proud and were never supposed to admit defeat! What the hell was his father's aim?

"Kyouya, what's going on? You have to know more about this than I do." He looked over to her and knew that he'd have to tell her something, but what could be possibly say? There were many possibilities involved and he hadn't quite been able to sort through it all yet. Plus there was the fact that he didn't want to hurt her. How would see feel when she found out that his father was just toying with them for his own amusement! At least, he was assuming it was just for the old man's amusement.

He sighed but knew he didn't have a choice in the matter; he was going to have to tell her what he thought was going on even if she was hurt by it. "I'm still not completely sure myself. My father is a very cunning man and it's generally very difficult to figure out that he's playing a game with you until it's too late. It's the reason he's done so well for himself in the past."

He looked her in the eyes before continuing, "I think my agreeing to tutor you was what started it all. My father couldn't figure out what had prompted me to agree to such a thing. We've always been told that friendships weren't needed or required unless they could benefit us in some way or another. We've also been taught to be very shrewd businessmen ourselves and since he couldn't think of any way for you to be able to repay me, he must have assumed that there was something else on the table. The only conclusion he could draw was that I was in love with you."

She looked like she was going to protest, but he silenced her before she could do so. He wanted her to hear everything that he'd thought of before she jumped to any conclusions. "My sister verified as much to me. She said that the reason that she'd come down to visit was because she heard from my father that he was worried that we were secretly dating and using the tutoring as an excuse to see each other more often. She knew my father would never allow us to be together, so she came to be our ally."

She looked as confused as he felt and it made him smile. "Why didn't you just confront your father about this?" He was so distracted that he didn't even realize that he'd grabbed her hand and had started to rub his thumb back and forward across the back of her hand. "There was something that didn't seem to fit you see. If my father was truly concerned that the two of us were dating then my sister would be the last person he'd want to confide in. He knows my sister's beliefs in love because she gave him hell about her own wedding. Plus, my father isn't the type to let my sister visit the house because he knows the public would wonder why she's not with her husband. So why tell my sister when he knew what she'd do?"

She frowned in thought and he continued to tell her everything. He told her about the conversation he'd had about her attendance at the first party and why his father said her presence was mandatory. He even mentioned the fact that the driver wouldn't have given him his clothes like that unless ordered to do so by his father. Her eyes bulged at that comment, but she seemed to understand what he was saying. "So you see, none of this makes any sense."

He looked to her for a moment and waited for her to say something, but the look in her eyes made him dread what she was going to say next.


	22. Chapter 22 Her Decision

Chapter 22

"Kyouya senpai, why did you kiss me in the closet?" He'd been afraid that she was going to ask something like that. He wasn't stupid, he knew what she meant; that didn't mean that he wasn't going to try to worm his way out of it though. "It was because of my sister, of course."

She kicked his shin, in the same exact spot that she'd kicked him in previously, and he was surprised that he hadn't gasped in pain. He'd have to remember this about her; she always kicked you in the same spot. Perhaps he'd invest in some shin guards. "I meant the second time. Why did it seem like you were going to kiss me again?"

He was embarrassed and he didn't want to answer this particular question. "I don't know what you are referring to!" He didn't want to admit that even back then he'd started being captivated by her. He wasn't sure exactly when he'd started to fall for her, but fall he had.

"Kyouya senpai, please tell me. Why did you try to kiss me again?" She was yelling at him now! First she'd hit him and now she was yelling! Why was the answer so damn important anyway! "Why does it matter?" Then again, why was he resisting telling her? "Kyouya senpai!" Fine, he didn't care anymore! "Because it was my first kiss dammit!"

His first kiss and it had been so much more than he'd been expecting! He had thought that it would just be a meeting of two lips, that there wouldn't be anything special about it. He'd never been more wrong in his entire life. It had been unlike anything he'd ever experienced before; and it had scared him. Scared him to the point that he'd ran and hid in his bathroom.

"Why did you glare at everyone at the party tonight?" What the hell was wrong with her! She was barking out questions that felt more like accusations! "Because I didn't want them touching you!" She yelled at him again, "Why can't they touch me? Why is it alright for you to touch me, but not them?"

He'd never been so annoyed in his entire life! "Because I said so dammit!" He realized what he'd said just as soon as it came out of his mouth. She was going to hit him. His eyes had apparently anticipated the hit as well because he didn't remember closing them.

"Kyouya senpai...kiss me." His mind refused to process what she'd just said. "Excuse me?" She smiled at him a little bit, but she repeated her request. "I said kiss me." Part of him wanted to...the part that had finally figured out that she was unlike any woman he'd ever met. The other part though...he wanted to run! He was still lying to her and she didn't deserve it! He didn't want to tell her that he'd started to play his father's game and had thought about using her! It was the surest way to losing her and he was almost positive that he didn't want that anymore!

If his choices were having her or becoming his father's heir he'd take her in a heartbeat! It was a gamble that his feelings would last, but it was one he'd be willing to bet on. Somehow, someway, she'd found a way into his heart. He could think of a thousand different ways to manipulate her, yet he found the idea repulsive. Out of everyone in the world, he found the one person he'd never want to manipulate ever again.

He looked into her confused face and knew what he had to do. He had to tell her the truth; all of it. He didn't want to, but he knew that as far as Haruhi was concerned it was the right thing to do. "Haruhi, let me start over. I think it only fair that you know everything."

So he told her all of the bad parts that he'd left out. He told her that he had figured out that his father was playing a game with him and that he'd decided to play against him. He told her about the reason he'd done what he had in the closet, but then the oddest thing happened. She kissed him!

At first he was too shocked to respond; after all, it wasn't every day that someone kissed you. He responded, but for only a second before he realized that he couldn't do this; so he pushed her away. "Didn't you hear what I just said?" She smiled at him and his confusion grew.

"Kyouya senpai...why did you tell me all of that just now?" He looked away from her because he wasn't sure how to answer. "I'll tell you why. You did it because you thought I deserved to know; because you wanted me to make a fair decision. If you wanted to, you could have lied; but you didn't. You told me all of the bad, nasty stuff that you thought would make me hate you. I'd be willing to bet that there are yet other things you haven't told me though. Good things or things that you're too embarrassed to admit to."

She waited, as if waiting for him to admit to it. Truth be told she was right, but this was too easy! He'd used her to try to get back at his father dammit! She should be mad at him! He shouldn't get to keep her like this; unless... "Haruhi..." She looked at him expectantly, but he just couldn't ask her. If she didn't give him the answer that he wanted to hear then he didn't want to hear it at all. He'd already made his decision, but for some reason he was too afraid of what hers would be.

"What Kyouya senpai?" She had this secretive little smile on her face and he wondered exactly what it was that she was smiling about. "Have you already decided? What will you do when you see my father?" He'd chickened out and asked that instead; perhaps he was less of an Ootori than he'd thought.

"Of course Kyouya senpai. Oh look, it seems as if we've arrived at wherever it is that you're father was hiding!" He looked up, but for once he couldn't say that he recognized the place. Actually, it was probably less that he didn't recognize it and more that he wasn't paying enough attention to even attempt to recognize it. His mind was miles away; thinking back to the time when a girl tried to place a pillow under his head without waking him up.

He was now dreading the meeting with his father more than ever. He'd been able to figure out what he wanted, but it just so happened that now what he wanted was exactly what his father thought. If his father really didn't want the two of them together, then he'd have planned for it. He hadn't even had the courage to ask Haruhi her feelings, would he really be able to admit his?

The driver opened the door for them and together they walked up the stone stairs and to the front door. They didn't even have to knock before it opened, and someone was there to escort them to where his father awaited them. He stopped in his tracks when an appalling thought came to him. Was this the reason why they couldn't get in touch with Ranka? "Kyouya senpai?"

He'd never heard of his father having dirty dealings with people, but Ootori's were rumored to be vicious. Would his father really stoop to that level? Would he be the type of person to hold her father over their heads? More importantly, what would he do if that happened?


	23. Chapter 23 The Confrontation

Chapter 23

"Kyouya. Ms. Fujioka. I'm so pleased to see you." For some reason, the calm and collected visage he usually presented to his father left him; he was only left with the way he really felt right now and that was angry. "Hello father." Yoshio raised a brow at his son's tone, but other than that did not acknowledge it.

"So, I take it that you know where my father is?" He was surprised that she sounded so calm! Then again, she'd squared off in front of his father before. "Of course I do, but I'll get to that part later. Right now I have a very serious question for you. What is your relationship with my son?"

Haruhi didn't give an inch. "I will not answer any of your questions until I know my fathers location. After that, I will tell you everything that you want to know. However, Kyouya and I have some questions we'd like answered as well.

His father had a poker face, but he had grown up watching him and he was able to figure out the subtle changes; as long as he was looking for them. However, any thought he had of watching his father's face flew out the window the second she said his name! He tried to think back, but he was pretty sure that she'd never said his name that way before. Before it had always been Kyouya senpai, but now it was just Kyouya...and his heart started to beat triple time by the thought. Was she just trying to mess with his father, or did she mean it?

"Your father is currently taking an aptitude test to see if it is alright for him to return to school. He decided that he needed to go back for a degree. He thought that Ranka would be too embarrassing to you should you want to become a lawyer, so he wants to pursue an acting career so that Ranka can still make an appearance. Now then, if that has answered your question to your satisfaction, perhaps you would consider answering mine?"

Why would Ranka decide this now? It was too coincidental for his liking. Plus, it was well past the standard time that universities would give aptitude tests. His father had to have set this up. Was this something he was planning on using later? Perhaps the outcome of his test would decide on their answers?

"Why do you want to know?" She stared him down as best she could and just waited. There was no way that she was going to give him the upper hand in this; especially since she had something she wanted to confirm first. She knew the answer in her gut, but she wanted to make him say it. After all, she was still kinda pissed with him about how he'd gone about all of this.

"As you may have noticed by now, I have three very promising sons. Out of all of these sons, Kyouya has shown the most promise. Therefore, who he shows interest in concerns me a great deal." He sat down and folded his arms and Haruhi followed his lead. He had no choice but to sit as well; even if all he wanted to do at that moment was pace.

"So, what you're saying is that you are worried that he has feelings for me that he shouldn't?" He started to watch his father again and noticed the slight movement at his lips; generally an indication that he wanted to smile. Strange, why would his father want to smile at such a question? "Ms. Fujioka, please stop these stalling tactics and tell me what I want to know. What are you feelings for my son?"

"Father!" He jumped to his feat, but she tugged on his sleeve to stop him. He didn't want to hear this! His heart was beating so fast that he was sure it would burst through his chest at any second.

"I love him." The air was knocked from his chest in that instant and he found that his legs were not strong enough to support him. Had he heard that correctly? She was in love with him?

"What about you son? What are your feelings?" He risked a glance at his father's face, but he couldn't make anything out of his expression. He'd already decided though, hadn't he? "I can't imagine my life without her."

"You know that she isn't wealthy or well-known in society? Do you realize what this means?" He raised his chin, determination in his gaze and looked his father in the eye before replying. "Yes, I understand perfectly, but I'll have no other. She's everything I never knew that I needed and if it's a choice between pleasing you and having her by my side then I'm sorry father; I've already decided."

"So, you're determined then?" He nodded and he smiled when he felt a small hand reach out and grab his own. His smile faltered when he noticed the expression on his father's face however. His father was smiling the same smile he used when he'd cornered his opponent and knew that there was no escape. "Excellent!"

"Excuse me?" He didn't understand. Had his father been worried about him being the heir? That had to have been it. He was afraid of how it would look if his youngest were to be named successor and so he was now relieved that he could pass it on to his brother.

"We'll have to formally announce your engagement. It will have to wait to be announced until after Kyouya graduates, of course." Engagement? Already? Not that he minded overly much since he'd already decided that he wanted her in his life, but weren't they a little young to get engaged?

"Mr. Ootori, based on the circumstances, I'd say that this has gone exactly the way you'd planned. May I ask one thing?" Yoshio inclined his head and waited expectantly. "What are you going to tell the Watanabe family?

Kyouya's eyes widened in surprise. He'd completely forgotten about the Watanabi family in all of this. "My dear girl, why would I tell them anything?" Hmmm. "Father, could it be that your business arrangement with the Watanabe family will not be effected by my engagement?"

Yoshio smiled at his son and he could swear he saw a sparkle in the old man's eyes. "Of course not! The Watanabe family has already agreed to take Ms. Fujioka into their firm once she graduates from law school. I suspect that they will not be overly surprised to hear that she will be joining our family ranks."

_Dropping the honorific suffix when referring to one's interlocutor, which is known to as yobisute__(__呼び捨て__**?**__), implies a high degree of intimacy and is generally reserved for one's __spouse__, younger family members, social inferiors (as in a teacher addressing students in traditional arts), and very close friends. Within __sports teams__or among __classmates__, where the interlocutors approximately have the same age or seniority, it can also be acceptable to use family names without honorifics. Some people in the younger generation (roughly "born since 1970") prefer to be referred to without an honorific, however, and drop honorifics as a sign of informality even with casual acquaintances._


End file.
